Impacts of Farm Structural Change on Farmers' Social Ties

Abstract

Many studies have examined how changes in extractive and basic industries affect natural-resource-dependent rural communities. Most of these studies have used aggregate data to explore the impacts of natural resource dependency and change on indicators of economic well-being. However, there are many reasons to believe that changes in the size and structure of natural resource industries also affect the dynamics of social life in these communities. Persons who play diverse roles in local natural resource sectors are likely to experience different impacts from economic restructuring. In this article we analyze data from nine dairy-farm-dependent rural communities in seven states to explore the impacts of agricultural restructuring on levels of farm operator community involvement and social integration. Comparisons are made at the aggregate level across communities dominated by different types of dairy operations, and at the individual level across dairy farmers who run different-sized operations.