FAMILYFAJ{MING INWI-:s-nmN NEWFOUNDLAND: PI((}DUCTIO N AND EXCl IAN(; E STH A'l'EGmSINA HEJ\'IOTEAGIUCULT URAI. REGIO N
by JohnDavldItlhu
A thcsls submiucd 10 the School ofGnuluutc Studies
inpartiulfullilmentoft he requirementsforthedegree of
Master of Sociology
DcpuruucmofSociology MemorialUniversityof Newfoundland
June 1995
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THEAUTHORHASGRANTEDAN IRREVOCABLE NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENCE ALLOWING THENATIONAL LIBRARY OFCANADA TO REPRODUCE,LOAN, DISTRIBUTEOR SELLCOPIESOF mSIHER TIlESISBY ANYMEANSANDIN ANYFORMOR FORMAT,MAKINGTHIS THESIS AVAILABLE TO lNTERESTED PERSONS.
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ISBN0-61 2~ 061 2 1 - 3
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L'AUTEURAACCORDE UNELICENCE IRREVOCABLE E1 NONEXCLUSIVE PERMETTANT A LABlBLIOTIlEQUE NATIONALEDU CANADA DE REPRODUlRE, PRETER.DISTRIBUER OU VENDREDES COPIESDE SA THESEDE QUELQUE MANIEREE1 SOUSQUELQUEFORMEQUECE SOIT POURMETTREDES EXEMPLAIRESDE CETTETHESEA LADISPOSITION DES PERSONNEINTERESSEES
L'AtrrEURCONSERVE LA PROPRJETE DU VRQITD'AUTEURQUI PROTEGE SATHESE.Nt LA TI!ESENI DES EXTRAITSSUBSTANTIELS DECELLE·
CINEDOIVENTETRE IMPRIMESOU AUTREMENT REPRODUITS SANSSON AUTORISATION.
AUSTRACT
InCuunda.governme ntpolicies and programsandthemarker struc tureitself ClIcllllnlgcthe rutionnliz mion nfngrlculturc:large ,costeffici entregionallyspecifi c lllonocruJllJJle r;\t i on~ .tnNcwfouudlumlfarmscontinue tosurviveandin some e:l!\Cs 11'lur bll inwllY'tll:ltseemto Flour statepolicyand the dictums ufthe ugrifood marke t.
B;ISl,t1nilfieldresearchconductedillasmallfar ming region inwesternNewfoundland, tilis lhcs isexaminesthemuniplc productionund exchange strurcgics offannersinth.u Iv gillllanduttcruptstnfindsocialexplanations for this diversity,Changesin the I'lnvillL';almarketsrrucmrc und tmnspottationsystcm huvc hcen intluc utial.Thefairly rcccur \'l'11ic:IIinte grntiunofNcwfoundiaud'sIooudeliver y systemhas hadIIprofo u nd cffccr. ThetlK\sisulso considers theinllucnce ofkinsh ipand conntumitytlcx and ohlig:uiolls011the modesufprodnctlon.1Ilt!exc hang e:111<1reveals waysthatfarmershave iuJaplI:dIntheconsuuims orunfuvourablclaudtenancyurrungcmcnts and a generally unsympruhcticluculnnn-Ianuingcommunity.
lnordcrIn describeandexplainthevario us productionandexcha nge urntcgics takenhytill'17farmunits surveyed ,thisthesisdevelo psafa rmty polo gy withitsrootsin thepohticul eCll1l1JlI1Y01" KuutskyandChuyanovandtheirsuccessor s.Whilefarm tYl"lllngies-particularlythose developedin North America-havetende dto relyon qu;mtitati\,e l[ala,lhetypology presentedhereisbasedonqualitative da!Ol antiparticularly IIICsocial relatio nsof producrlonand exchange withinand outside eachrarrnunit.In the
«ratysts .uuccdistiucrrypcsor"fumilyfunn"emergewithinthesurveyurea.eachn'lying rm upnnlcul.u-setof'xociul.economicumlpoliticalresourcesfor~I1L'l'C~~Inconclusion. thtsthesissuggests111;1I11lcvaryingneedsof eachortheselYpcsmustIll'\llh'l\into cousidcnuionwhenugrlcuhurulpolicyisIonnulutcd.
TAUI .EOF CONTEl"TS
Page An STI~ MT..
I.I~TSOF /;IGU RES AND TABL ES .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS•••.
C/I;1]1lcrI INTRODUCTION. Chapter2 REVIEWOFTI-IELITERATURE ChuptcrJ RESE ARCI-IMEHIODS
vi
Chaplc r 4 ANOVERVIEWOF THEBAYST.GEORGESOUTHREGION.. 35
4.1TheCommunityToday . 4::!
4.1 TheFarms ofBuy51.George's SO\1th.. .. .. ... .. ...•. 44
4.3The PeopleontheFann. 49
4.4WhyandHow TheyBec ameFarme rs. 53
L'lruptcr5 DEVELO P ING ATYPO LOGYBASEDONSOC IAL RELATIONS . 55
5.1The "Pedd ler"Househo lds. 59
5. /.1ProductionStrutcglcs:Land Use.. .. . 59
5.1.2 Labourusc.. 61
5.1.3 C:Jpi11l1Usc. 63
5.1.4Pedd ler Househ oldExchangeStrarc gies. 64
5.1The"Co-o r Crowd "Househ old s . 67
5.1.1Production Stnucgic s: LundUsc . 67
5.2.::!Labo ur Use., . 71
5.::!.3CapitalUsc.. 74
5.2.4Co-op Crowd HouseholdExchangeSunrcgfcs. 75
5.3The"Bus iness Farm"Households. 78
5.3.1 ProductionStrategies:LarulUsc 78
:i.3.2 Labour Usc. 79
5.3.3 CapitalUsc . 81
5.3.4 Busines sPnnuHousc hctdExchan ge Strate gies.. . 85
iii
Clmptcrf POSSIB L E EXPLANA TIONS FOR TI lEDIVERSIT Y OF
PRODUCT IONANDEX CHANG E ST IMTEG IES :-;]
6.1 The Pcddlcrs. 6.2TheCo-op Crowd 6.3TheBusinessFarms. Chapter7 CONCLUSIONS .
7.1Policylmplicuttons 7.2Liminuious oftheStudy. LITERATURE CITED
Appendix:SURVEYQUESTIONNAIRE..
lJ(I tJ.5 lUI 11IJ
10(1 lIIS 111 II:'
LIST(WFIGURES
Figure
2.1 whnunorc'sTypologicalMatrix . :1.1 Vuluc-onlcrcdScales
or
DegreeIIr
Suhsumpuon. 5.1 Aggre1:1;1tcScoril'lgSystemandRes ults..5.2 Distrihmiou
or
SurveyFlinnHouseholdson Mntrix.UST OF TAIILES
Page
...25
:13 57 57
4.1 AgrlcnltnrulPro lile of B:IYSI. George Southby199 1Censusand
199:1SurveyDatu. .•. 46
4.2 NumberufSurveyed Farms Reponing CommercialProduction ofSelected
Comuvnliticsin199:1. . 47
4.3 Selected Chnructerisucs ofReportingFarmOperators and Spouses. 52
ACKNOWI.lW<;MIENTS
PirstLmust expressmyupprccimlon forthe kindness mallirJllnessof Illy sUjh:rvisnrs, Drs,LarryFeltalldPeterSincla ir.Theywere.so kind;ISInallowm)"mlmlt«
grnzc unhurriedin wale pasture sortheoryand speculntilll1.and yetsnfirm ;ISto convince lllelhntt he 1lleaningo f hulllane xisle nce ctltlidmabccnnrclyrruu-mlucd111 umastcr's thes is,
lmustalsothank myfriendnudfello wstudcmDnvc Scoufil l'hisproddi ng cncourugcmcutund theshiningexampleof ucndcmic diligenceuml llISl';plinl'Ill' pn ll'idl'll tnl1le :lltimes w hell lwas myse lf adril"\.
Fimll1ylrunstacknowledge withgralitmlctheIc lluwxhipuudteaL'1ling assistantshipprovidedhytheMemorial University of Newfound land ,whichmademy graduatestud ies1IInJthisthe sispractic al pnssihililics.
vi
Chapter One I~T RO UU CTION
Tile\IIU~l l1l1:ufthc world's ugriculruralsector. thewayroodmxlIlluuarc produced,rn -..:e\~c liand dcfivcrcdtomarket ba\beenradicallytransformedin tile111';1 lnmdrcdyeurs.NCWli llllld la ll<.l·ss ma llfarl11ingS<..'t;lo r has nUl cs~ apcd l hi.\ l rnll sf(Jrmal illil.
Iwrlicularlyfnlillwillg Confcdcnuion withCanada in]l).j9.Therenrcfewer farlllsin Newfuundlandtodayundwhiletheyliremorcmcchnuixcd amilargertheyl:uI1i\'111eIcs.~
land overall. Thelinl1'~shareofgro~,furmrcvcmcsiscapmrcdbyarelativelyfewnewer lll'cr:rl itlll~,pccil ili z iligillcapiialllllem;i\'chrn ikr,eggnlllirnilkp rmhiclinn. Pmdncc rsof suchlfmlitiIlI1IIINewrtllllldlnndd iclllry.,wplcsusrunlcwp"cllhhllgc,I'\I11hlllldlll,.'Cfhavc intheI:ISI...~years gone from hcirlg the theislllllll'sprimm)'source10:1nmrglual scr mul.rry~1'1I 1\.'C111'theseucms.
Ibis studylill.·lI~cs1111whurwusoncercntraltothe dcvclopmcru ofagrlcullllrcin N\'II'I"nU lldl;tml.she"family1':11"111".Thel':lmily rarmis lUiUIIUSIIliIromuulonin11rnuturc cupuutisrccunomybecausehi, holh :lprnduclinlll1nita ndlld lllllcstil·unit.ltis IIwork sile umlahomesill.'anditisortendilflcuh toscparurc economicactivitiesand '1:Illt i"ll ~hi!'-'f"'l1JdumCS l ictlnes.ltiS ll"hml ~c holdcornlll()(Jilyp rod llclj ou ulli l"llnd lls
SUdl ili~templing l" rcll,lrdhlISatnmsitionalIor m, un.ogovcr(winprc-cupitalisttimcs 1I'11idlisontheway <lUI.IIlnutschohlwhichhnppens10Farm.Thisstudycxamincsun ultcuuulvcll(lssil1i1i ly.l l1althesefonuetinnsnrcTannsolihchousehold lype",uron»
wellsuhc dtothcImltllreC~lpila1ist\'CllInll1\yandnllll1 resilhl(IL'l'hcrvtorcthissllhlywill sec k ttl explainvarluriouinfmnilyfurmtypesasSlll'l'\'~',fll l"'~pllli1;lt itll\s"rnlllditillllS oc curringilltburccumuuy ruther than liSStll~l'SUrdl'CllY ill aIroIIlSitillll,JI fllrm.Sinn' these fllnlls liretakenseriously . varintienwill be describedinr:lrllling tenus.,\1;l r mill ~ cmcrprbcis urgnnizcdfo r the producrinnand exchangeof'rarmprnchwts,l) i \'l'f~ iIYIII
rnlllilyr<lrmtypesm:lyhcexplainedill termslJftledsilllISwkcll.r"rwl latl'wrro.'asl'll. h.
purSlieCCl1l1il1stm tcgiesof pruductiol1l1ndc.'\cl!'lIlgc.
Majurstmlicsll fthcN ewfnllnlll:lndHgriculIUl;llsectur(IItHlsl'I')XCI,IIIII:1IlI'l'l l) havelilCuscdullthctypes.qu:mtitiesHl1d\'alucsnf[he cl'1l111lndi[icsp roltllln'd:nnltlw processinganddistributionsysrcmw hhuutdclviugrlccplyinln lhl'int,'rllal strul'llln 'slli theproductionunits 111C111scl\'cs- thefarms.Thcircutplutsis1111 till'Ncwfuuudl.un l
"agrili lOdsindustry",1I1ditspotential as a modcm.jub-crcatiug \'l'r1ie;llIyilllcgrall'd economicSI."C[orIuilsmcapturc theplight of many grncnuiunnl fHflIlprujll'icl0rSwhnfcc! theyarcbeingnusuudcrstood.marginali/.cdor simplyignnu:d.C1l:1ngc ~intcchn"I,,!;y, Ihemarketstructure, thetranspnrtatiunsystemandgovcnmcnrpolicyhaverOI\.'c(1 funncrs[(Iuduptur perish.Thefarms that survive11lIVI;:hadtochangerhcway lilcy do business,developingnew stnucgicsrorthe pnalucrionandex~h;lI1J,1cof agl'icnllllnil commo dhicsandforthe prcscrvutiunor"rcproducnon"ofthepnxluetionunit,IIICInnn,
Huw dues one geta ltundlc onwhat is guingtin"downon the farm"'!l-nnnCCtNI~
rhunurcnlll allthnttI.•cful,Iorusthispaper willshow.muchufwhatg'lC~(IIIL!,.WIlonthe
furm is IICIIreported.There lire threereasonsforlhis.First,thecategoriesinwhich farm (];1I11lirecllilecledandorganizedreflect andrcifypreconceived notionsoffarm organizaliunallypes (Stnlllge19NNp.67). Second. farme rs lire nutorious ly"infurmn!'in rheirbusinessdealingslindmuch oflhetanucc onom y goesunrecorded.Third.veryfew ranu!louseho !th,even "successful" ones,obtainall theirincomefromfarming.ifonly because fannintltentlsInI~xcusonul and thereis limeinthe yearI'motherwork.
E\'Cllwhcnd:lla :lrccolleclcd\'e ry t.:arefully frnll1lhefarmcrstJlllherarll1silein 0llt'lI-cnllcltdiscussionallowingforplentyofquulitntivclnforrnntion it isdifficultIn
"make sense"utthcm.Thisis becausemOSIfurmcrs are netupc nuin gsimply10maximize pnlfil.TIIL'ylire1Iisoidcologlcullyconuuittcdtothe cran offanning.10 a W:lYofll!c. They:11"I.'interestedinpreservingthe Ianu sire<1,acongenialhomesill.'.illoplimizing living l.·tllldilillnsfurf:unifymembers. indoing physicallabourclose Inthe earth, in ugricolunulcxpcrirucntauou,in collcg !ulrelationsandslatu.~muong utherfurmers.
TIl interpretthetunnuuitsociologicallyis10 locateand unalyzctheIurrn-spcciflc humann-latlonshlpsol'thcpeople involved.The Iarm is a 1.lcanillgflllsncioll1gk:ll l·a' c~ oryif andonlyifthere nrchumanrctanonstnps pcculinr to the"farm"furmof prudlll: liun unit.Ifrhisis the case, vndntionsin furmform should becxpluluablc interms of \":lrialinnsinIhcsc rdllinn., hips.If. a.' \1'11.'the case inlhisrcxcarch project.distlnct
"II"HY·~'"of farming seemto emerge.thentheseW;IY.~nrcbestilllalyzedintermsoriI Iypo logy bascdonrhoscfarm-specific vurtnblcsasweir.Since thefar msumdsas aunit
I'mtheproductionandexchangeoragricuhuralprmlucts,the Iarm-spcclflchuma n rclutinnships migluhe expected10 be manifesteditSrelatio ns(Ifproductionl1mll'c-lauous or exchange.
Theinuucdimcgoal oflhisresearchls 10describeandcxplniuIh~'dttfcrcm productionmill exchangestrategiesiukcnhythc 17farmunits surveyedin IheHcnthcrron 10Highlandsarea or Newfoundland's westcoast. Tofucilitntcnus discusxiouIwill develop u farmtypology informedbypreviousre search.Jwill discuss the effectsof market s,distribution systems, govcnuucntalpro grams andpolicies. millkin,l'llll1ll11lnily undcollegialrelationshipson funnunit structure.Finally.[willdiscusstheimplications of lily flndlngs torfarmpo licyinpmticulurandrural development policy ingeneral.
Chapter Two A({EVII~\V011THEI.ITERATUIU~
The litcmtureOilfanningis vust and wideran ging und so it will beIlccessaryto restrictdiscussion ofittil afe w relevantmelts.The prohlcmforthis thesis is two-fold.
Firsl,it'lim s to showthatthe family farm, a householdcommodity production unit,is wnnhy ofdbcus.~ion a.~are.t~onableresponse to a nuuurc c,lpitalistsystem nuborIh'lI1 an .U1Olchronisrnwhichmay be expected to wither under that system. Second ,it aims 10 show thurtbcdiversityin fami ly farmscanbe explainedpositivel yby variable productionand exchangesmucgtcs nuhcrthannegativelyas11straight-li necontinuum ofthe competence urnuiouufityofilgrtlul1ofopcnucrs illltrying todothe sumc thing. Thereforethe goalof Ihischapteri.~III prcscm;1hisrorlcatoverviewof theuiscussionofthcviahil ityof household commodityproduction forms and to synthesizea typology
or
theseforms drawingonrhclitcr.nurcnnd bused on differentcombinations of productionund exchangeWhileMnrx pnid nnlysporadicattentionto agriculture as such(Friedland[lJ9l [1.;1)hisargument that socialIormutionsshouldbe analyzedtntcrms of relationslind f\lrce.~of produ ct io n and exchange continues10infor m the sociologyoragriculture.As illustl':lledbythe followingquotutlonfromCuoiUtl.Marxexpectedthat relations(If
productioninan ugricutturalsectorunderthe C:lllitillbtmodewUlIldbetransformed:ISin any othersector:
"ThefOllml:lt iollllfthecapitalistsystemisthereforetheunuostSl'p:lr:ltinnofthe producerfromthemeansofproduction...Thebastsoflhiswhulcdcvcjopmcm isthe expro priationoftheagricnlturulproducer.ThishnsIli:CIInccornplishcd ina r;ldil; ;ll fusluonnnlyinEngland...BmanuecoumrfcsolwcstcmEur upcnrc~Ililll!tlmlllghthe same movement"(Marx19~7p.57(l).
Thc "utmostsc pumtion" was to OCClIrliSthepcuybourgcols!c,those.slll ' p kccpc rs , artisans andfurrncrswhohnthworkedund owncdthch-mcunsIlfpn,ductilillwen:
bifurcatedinto workerand owner classesbythe inexorable capit;dislf'II"Cl's 'IfIlnll.lllCl i" 11 Marx neverwaveredinhisbeliefthat workingfannerswoulduvcntuullyhe.sl'p'lnlled fromugriculturulcapitalhilthe frequently expressedhisrrustr:lliunwiththeland owning pcosurarywhich"...hind ers every workers' revolutio nnndcauseshroFail,ilSithasdune inFrunccuptillnow..;"(Marx1987 p.561).Marx's thinkingwas no dlluht infl llcnCl'l1hy the factthathelivedinEngland,whereboththellgricultura llllllllllll llUr;l~' lurillgscell,."
had beentmnsformcdin muchthesnmcwayI'mmlCudillisllll hl'llughslllllil proprictorships 10rlominntkmbylarge-scalecupiml.
When theGerman,KarlKuutsky.publishedTheAgrarianOtl\;stjonin1Xl)l), Leninwrote:"Knutsky'shook is the mostimp ornm t even!in present-dayccumnuc
Iitl.r.lIurc...inceIh..:Ihinl vnlurncnfCaciLal.UntilnowMilll:ism Ims lackeda systcm uuc studyuf cilpil:lli\11land1lI:lricullUrt:.Kautsky hasfilledthis gapw(K:mtsky19&8p.xi) . Kaulsky"I~rvcdtlnn inGer manysmallerfamily fannswereInc reasinginnumberjUJiI
;ISmcny1;lr~L"c;lrit <llistl'pcrdlillnswerefailin g andhepnflOScdseveralpossible CltpliUl;llin lls furthis.Fl....r.inmanufactureit ispossibletomultiplythemeansof pm.lucti'l llwhhcapitnl.but inagriculturethechielmcuusofpnxl uL1ionis theland.
whichi...uvnilablcinfixed QUiLOlilicsandcannotbe"uurluphcd"(ihid.p.145).
Munnlucturcrscnn lucrcuscproductioncapacityeithe rbyinvc...tingrupitalin exisling lllChlr1eS (l1lullir1yil1glurhy:lhsurbing rivalopcrar'onsbypurchase.Farmingenterp rises need111111-0.:landtiliIlL'l~:ISCproductioncapacity.Indcvelo/'L'tlcountries.scarcefarm land isulreudyheirrg usedhyrivltloper urlcnsandsof:lmlingcmcrprtscs11111."1absorbrivals 10 gmw.pn,.·k r.thlyriv alsncxtdutlrhcc;L u~ilisill1prolCtic:lllo cultivalc:1patchworkof dis~N.'t.1smallhtlldin~..(ib id,p.147J.
Sccoed,Kilut ~\;,y ~lcscrih... waysinwhichsmallfalllilyfumunrcfunctionalto c:Lllita li~lll.While :-,ul'JIlusf"m , l:tboun:n; willdrirtimctbc city10findind ustrialjobs.the UpflllSilcdo~•-s1I111 00.:1:111'.Thc urbanproletariatisrarelyinterested in orphysicallyor l)Sychlllng ic:ll1yprepared fortherigo ursend mo nolonyoffarmlife.IfI:lrgecommercial fanningllpcr.ttitlllSme IIIexpand.theymustturnrosmullIamilyfarmsfo rthc rcproducrlonolthcirlabour force.Andsince smallInnusnrc oftc nnutrgin ul,eventheir pn\priClnrs
nmy
Ill:uvnllublcusa"reserve army"ror
purt umcemployment(ibid.p.159 I'Ll.Kautsky'spointisthat sl11l111 Iunusdonotsurvivebecausetheyarecompetitivewith IurgcIlile sbutbecausetheyarc complcncntary.w...likc capitalistand proletarianthcyrequireeachother...~(ihid. p,1( 7), Third. it istothendvnntugcIll'thehllu rg~'lli s democraticstatetos\1hsidizcslll.lll familyIurmseven whenIhey arcl\Ill likelytobe comp etitive .As Marxhad curlier noted,smallfannerstendtil hepllli1k<lllyconservative.
Discnfrunchlscdand prulctariunizcdthey nrc1I1melikelyttlmaketl\ll;hlclihilt.p,l.1J1.
Kautskyarguedthntthctransition fromcnpirulismtosocialismcouldIll' accom p lishedwithou texpropriating peusnntlandownc rsnrothersmall :1l'1isilllal entrepreneurs.There wouldalwaysheIIsmulldemand forspel'iahy itcmswhichrequired specialurtisanalskillsto produce and which('(luMbest hepmdueclihy smallhllUS\.'hllhl enterprises,Otherwise.snw llhoJder.~who produced cmnmoditlcswhid ll'lluldIll:
deliveredmo reefficientlybylargeropcranons''...willbe gladlushell llwSl' lIlhl;lIln'lit their independencelindtheirpropertyifthelarge-sellIe silcialisl enterprisenl'll'rs them palpable advantag es"(ibid. p.143L).Here,contraryIIIMarx,Kuutsky \ViiSsll~gestill~
thaI a small nrtisilm,lpropcr-y owningc1iISSincluding certainspcciuhyl'''I"llIL'I'.Scouldhe mor etbuuatr unsitionnlform,
Arguin[:tlunthcnew SovietSI,IICshould supportpeusumsnwllhnhlefclH1IICrOitives ratherthan establishing state collective farms,theRussianagnUlomis1Alexander Chuyanovcontendedthateconomicsofscaleravourcdthcfamily fnnu(ChaYilllllvIlJI)I p.4ff).Writingin[lJllJ,henotedthetendencyofcapitaltoshuurhcIlllri/ lmt;.1 uccurnuhulonnf furmlandforthegreaterprofitstube madehycontrolling thcllIarkclsfor farminputsand outputsin asystem of verticalIntegnnlon.Thegeneral Sovict~lralcgy
Wil ~tousclhe cllicicnlproductjnnmethodsof cupimlism whilereturningthe surplus VllI IIC10theworkersinsteadofs lockh tlldcr s.Inthecusc orag ricultureChayenovfeltthat nm.ulcsenseIIIrc uuntheemerg ing capltulistmode-numerousmdcpc mlc m sm;lllhn ltling producer s with asinglcintegratedsupply anddistr ibutionsystem• tmnslunucd inlu
, I
coopc nuiv c ,ratherthantoresurre ctunurchnicfc udnl modc,the laliflindiulll,lIS:l"cullccuvcfarm".Chuyunuv'scurlystudiesofthe"peasanteconomy"were informedbyvisits(0
coopcnuivcsiulrnly.Belgium.Germany. Switzerland und Pranceas
wenas
hy o:xalllin,lliu lloftheuanslnikiinRussia.[11 1925,;lnumberoffield:->tud iesundertaken by tlK'SovietRe se archlus titutcfur Agricultural Economicsenabledhimto identify sixbasic sociultypcs ufkussi.mpeasantho useholds.The y were(Chuynnov 1991p.2M.):I.The "clnsxicul kulakhousehold",Whilethesehous eholds mightengageinag ricultu re their chiefincomecameIrommcrcuntlleactivities.Theyboughtlindsoldugricuhurul ctllllllllltlilies,extendedcred it,leasedequipment.andwe resmall in mnnbcrhutamajo r forc e inthccmnurysldc.
2.TI~"scnu-cnphalisthousehold".Thesehouseh oldsdid nolengllgeinmcrcnntilc urtiviricsbutdepended unalarge .permanenthiredlabourforce(inaddition10household 1:lhourlfromwhichtheyextractedsurplusvalueas"e ntre preneurial income".These 11' lIIkd IIIhefuirl ylargefarms,spcciillizingincommodi tiesforexpo rtoutoftheregion.
III Theywerele ss influeminlthanthe kulilks aud werenll ncr.lhkhicxpluil:lliullhythelll.
3.TIle-familyIann hUl!!>I..'hold ",PiLl rian:h iillly urgimi/cd.~lnll:l im,:~OJ"1;\11-....am]well- eq uippeda_~the <;cmi<ilpiliJli!its,these(am lsdidlluldependun1."1llo,'Im." I<:u ria!iUl"IllIlI.' (millwagelabour.The y reliedmainly onfamilylahullr.lhuu~htlk'Yhinxl!:It.n ur uncxploitivclyto "helpou'"duringbusy pcrinds.111ey weresuhjCCh:fol lll";lllilali...
exploitationonlyinmurketrchuionships and whenfmllilymemherslouknrr·farmjuhs.
4.111C"nmrgitmlr'lInilyfurmhousehold".SimilurrcrypcJhUIlackingsunil-jentfmuily lubour.bmdiUll1ln requipmen tttlbe economicallyn.hll"'.Wi thinsuflkicnlll.'MllIl\.'\'s.
thesefunnsurcli kelyInhe exploit edhylypeI.
5.The"full-t imefurmhouschuld depende nt onofr-IannilM;tlIIIC~ ,1\fa milycmmuodity
prorJuctionunitwhosereproductio nrequiressomc mcmhcrs tndow,lgcwurkfurtYlx',1
tl(J,orinnon-ramisccturs.I\I~llikclytohe cxpluitcdhytypcI.
6.The"proletarianpart-time rarmhotl.liClmld~.1\veryMIllIII'!'oC;llcranuwhu'\Chuu'\Chulll incomeisalmost entirelyderivedfromwugclabour.
ChuyunovrejectedtypesIund6 as prospectiveCIKlperative memherslindplnectl theremainingfourlmotwocategories:1\)"cupit alistnuukct-oricntcdfunus"Uypc2) lind B)"markct-oncn tcdfam ilyhouseholds"(typesJ.4,5)(ihitl. p.J I).Group1\HllCrlllc,til
II muximizc profit whilegroupU 0PWIICS10reproducetheconditions ofproduction(the Illluscllltld).Underidculuurrkctcon ditions the economic bchavicnr of'bothwillhe slmllnr,hUIliS marketsdeterioratetheirsmncgtcs \ViIIdiverge.GroupAwillcutlossesby laying llffp.lid lnhour.reducing opcmnonslindperhaps evengo ing milofbusiness.
GrtlUfl Bwithan inelastic labour fo rcewill tend10diversify and/orintensIfyoperationsto nvoid11I1-Ofunderemployment,lI1U decreaseinternalconsumptio n uncccssary\0 111l:SCrVCtheproduct ionunit. On Chaynnovsaccount.thisxurvivnl-bascdflexibilityand ildaptahllity, helpedhytheIlcxibilityof alund-basedenterprise.istheorgunizuticnnl virtue which allowedfamilyfarmsto survivemarketIlucunuions andulltlu~tcupltalist r,mllsfibhl.p.:\7).The Idealfamilyr,1rI1111ll11SCholdsreact tomarkerconditionsunthe husisufdirectlytJl1tll11 i/.ing thc lifeconditionsoftheir members.Idealcapitalisti.l.lll.I collective nper:ltinllsreact tn maximizeincomefor laterdistributionuswages:lnll/Ilr pnllil.~.
Byprupusingthehouseholdcommodityproductionunitastheemerging agriculturulmudcuudcrcupitalism rather than1Ipre-capitalis t residu al ortransitionul phase.Chuynnovchallengedconventionalthinkingofhiscorucmpo rurics ontheLeftand thcRight{Durrcuhcrgcr1984p.:!).Hisunitor analysisis theproductionunit, thepeasant household.rutherthantheindividual oran economicsector.He classifiesthese units hased on rclutionsotproducrlonrutherthan commodity.sizeorincome,thou gheach hus itstendencies inthose areas.Differing from many"farm" typologies,Chayanov's householdsnrc notres tricted to ugrtcultuml pursuitsbut couldbe involved in anumber of
"
urtisanal prac tices.Individualmembe rs ,11.:1corponnctyasIIhouschokl andcannot easily be separatedby relationsofproductionintoworkerslindowners.
While ChayanovWlISbeginninghis studiesinprc-revoluf-nury]{lISSill . ilIICn:S lin
"theagrarian question"wnsgro winginNo rth Amcri-::l :ISwell.Thelilli ll'llSI;IICSwus becoming1I11Urb'lI1.industrialcountryandInrmruccluuuzntion undnew urban employmentoppornmitlcs were rushingand pulling ruralpenpleinto,h~'cities. l'rl'sidclil Roo sevelt 's CountryLifeConunissioufUCllscdpopularuucution ou tucdeclineIll'Ih~' ruralcommunityandinspiredthe sea rc hfor "anewIypeIlf civili/.a lillllil l\ll lllgfarm mill village people"(G alpin1936rAB!) .Rev.Charles Galpi nlefthispaslnral l'H J~1mrhc Univer sityofWl sconslntoconductthefirst systematicsoclologtc utstudies orrural counnunnlcs undfunningpatterns inthe UnitedStutes. Ancr ycurs'lf clllpiric:ll.~I :" ties Gnlplubegan torccluncusyubcutthc "highlyprovincial,quitefrngmcnrury'' descriptive workheandotherswere do ing. He soughtthehel p ofHarvardsnciulugi.~1PitirimSornk ill
\f)linktheempirical researc hwithsocialtheory (ibid.p.511I).Thcrcsun. publishedin 19:Wundco-edite dbyCarleZimmerman"IUSthc threeVOIUlllCSY'lI"ll\ulicSClUl\:CH' mk inRun!Sp!'in!o"y.This bo ok developedtherurul-urbundichouunywhich domhuucd Americanruralsociol ogyuntil recen ttimes.Itargues consistently Ilg:linsl MlIrxisl 'luc ial theoryand suitisinteresli ng that itslypologyoffarmssomewhat resemblesChayunov's.
Thisisprobablynota coincidencesince footnotesindicateIhetyp ology wus synthesized fromnineRussian texts, eight publis hedaftertheRevolution, sev en published uffcr Chaya no vsTheo ry n(PC'I!<'1 Q' Cn-o pc n niyCs (Sorukln ctal.1t)(}S p.3(5 ). This typ' I!Ogy
13 (illeSHudtherelative(limcnsioflSufsizcand ret urnper unitonlund . labourand capital.In reverse ordertocorrespondwithChayunov's,it isilSfol luws:
I.The "JalifumJiatypeIll'furrneconomy".111istypeconsistsofmultiple semi-
<I11111110 11l1 11lSfarm)o;jlc.~with hire d wor kersnndmiddleandUppel'le vel sulnr icdmanage rs.
IIbalurgc,c"pilal isticorgunizntinnwithextensiveland holdings . Returnpcrunitoncapitalandlabour is high,wh ilereturnpCI'unit 011land is low.
2.The "capil'llhlil:Ianneconomy",This isalarge agriculturalenter prisewhose proprlcturperfurms onlyIllHlUlgcr1.\1Functinns.\Vorkersand foremen nrcpaid.TheIann isurgiln i /.cd III returnmnxiuuun profi t on investm ent.Return perunit1111capital and labourismuxlmnf,hUIreturnperunitonlnndislow.
3.The"funucr-cup itulistic furmenterprise",Th is typeutilizcsf:nn ilylabourumlsome hiredhelp, A largerthanaveragefurm,it isabletoaccum ulatewealthbeyondthesimple reproductionulthcproductio n unit.Thefarmisorganizedpartlytosatisfydirectneeds
o r
thefamily.pnnlyIorprofit.Returnperunitoncupillliandlanouris good.whilcreturnpe r unit linhurdisnmdcr ntc.
-I,The'funucr-prodnc tivcfarm cmcrpr isc".ThistypeorfanuutifizcsFamilyluhourand minimalhired help.Itis morescif-provisillilinglindles s reliantonthemarketecon omy than1)'Ill:J hUI islik elytoproduce eno ughsurplus10mukc capita l impruvcmcras and
perhapsaccumulate sonic wealth."nk.'t!iu lUsil.l.'t1fann,ilis uf;aniz\,'d:IIUM.sl cmircly tu o;;ltis fy Ihedirectneeds(IfibcIar mfamily . Return perunitl' nC~ril;11.1l1l! lahl,lufis moderate.bUIreturn perunitonlan dis good.
5.The"pcusar u-consumptivcIarrnenterp rise",All:Ivai[ilhkf;unilylahu ur isrc·(I\1il\."l111I ope ratethistypeof Iann,Itdoc snothirehelpandfamilymembersdllllulworkulT-f'lrIl1.
Ilighlyself-provisioned,itcurns only1Ismallcashlnccmc.Cll'ilalilllpn IVcmcllls;1lI11 wealthnccumulntion nrcrarelypossible.Itis asmalief sized fnnnorganizedentirelyhI sausfy thedirect needsofthefarmfamily. WhilercmmperunitIll!capiWIandlalMlur is IIlW,reiurnperunit 0111:111(1is good.
6.The"prolcl:u i:mi1.ing urdceayingfannC!llcrpril'=".l1lislypeislUll~lIIall:1I1up'':r.lliull IIIemploy1I11available familylabour.Some membersIIII1SI wurk ulT- f:lnll.IIUIIk.'\.".~~,rily in agricullure.tosuslaintheunit. Fannprod uct sarealnM¥.'>1elilirelyfurfunrily consumption. This "cry smallfur machievesalow return perunitunCilpil:!1mull;lhuur hutreturnperunit onIillwishigh .
WhilethetwoIypolugieshavesim ilarities,Ifind ChllY;lIlnv'smoreIISCfll1.Firsl,it isrestrictedtilthehousehold(c.g."pc'I.~<lnt")lcvclofnnalysis.Second,it_~l'elll~1I111re adaptable10pluriacttvltylindnon-ngriculturulconuuodhyproduerhm.Tltinl,theelilo lT pointslin:more qualitative lindsharplyde fined intermsnfrelllliulls Ill'P"NIIICtillll.
15 Chuyancv'v Illlllk dis uppcarcd fromviewinthe SovietUnionshortlyancrthe vccund editiollwas publishedin 1927.While bothMarx millKuutskyhad arguedfor practicalrC11'\llll Sagninstrhc kindofforced collcctiviznrioncrocusnnrholdi l1~s110 Wbeing pursued hy thene w SI,.linis(regime.Chayanovinsisted Ihnt eve-nvonuuary l..'oJkcliv i/a liulldid lJolma keeconomicsense. Forthishe \\'lISInbclkd "...atmlror-tolite rc vntmion,iIhuurgeoisscholar,IIllis tMu!ticunofpop u lislideol ogyanu'IleaderOf :l CllUnlcrrCVlllulillllaryorgan izllliun"(Duncnbcr gcr1984p.2).
lronieally.the vision .developedby theFarmer'sUnionintheearly19()()s, of independentfarmers lmndingtogether incoope rativesand controllingthe processing and dislrihutilJl1ofthcircommo dnicswas.t~alarming 10thc vested interestsofAmerican L:<Ill il a1islll ll ~itwas IntheSovietStul lnfu reg ime(ibid.p.4).Inbothrases.suncpolicy .mdsuucfundingdirectedresearchmVllYfromthestudynfcxist mgnudes nrproductiun and towunlsthedevelopment olwhatwereexpected10hemore efficientones.In the Llultcd Sinles,rura lresearchW<lSdirectedbyIheUnitedSuncsDepartment of Agriculture (USDAllhrullgh theland-gruntcollegesandextensionservices.Thestudy of'ngrlcuhurc perscbecamethe pr ovince ol scicnristslindcgriculturul economistsconcerned with pnulucf ionnndmarkc torientedresearchand developm ent rutherthancriticalcxuminatluu
!lfsllcialrcfulousin agriculture(Frie dland 19 91p.IO).Rum!.~ociollJgiststurnedtheir mindsf'rmuthc"culture"ofagricult ureto broaderstudiesof the declinin grum]
conuuuuiticsut' the Grcat Depression (Pricdlundct.al.1981p.z).
" .
Follo wingthe SecondWork! war,rumls(lCiulogists wen:lllullili /~'\1IIISllllly peasa nt cconomes OVCNa'ia...faci lilallu·,.orthe:nnh;lillllSU.S.int.: n mlillnal dcvcloprrcutPfUtlr.IIU.Fril.'lI1:md remarkslhalU.S. 111m! MlCitlklg.isl SIlIlh b. \lilYarcli kely 10kno wmoreabout agrirnhural relationsnf prol!uctitlllin IheTIlinlWllfMthimilltheir hom e count ry (Fricdlmu11991p.IO).ThosefewruralStll.'i\. II~isbWh Ul:llll lin llctl lt ' exploreNorthAmericanegricuhurc werelikely10hedoing 1.'1Il11iril.":1IresearchIII radl italctheadOplioll llnddiffusionofUSDA-:lpprtlI'CUagriclIllunl ]Il'cJ Ulnl tJ~y (FricdJmul 1982p51J7ff.).
Theorganiwlion\lftheNorth American ug.ricuhun.1SCClllramllhcimcrual suucrurc ofits pmducliull unitswereradicallyaltered bythe GreatIk lll\.'·"iu n.
nwchanbculo nlindgovcrnnjcru interventioninIhe \l)JOs1II1l11;llcrhy ;ll1l'Xp: lII, lin t:pU~I
war exportmarker,Yetintheirintroduc to ry RIm!~t.lciulllgy~"II'ltl hli~ltlx1in1')10Sillith andZopfco m(llllin Ih:llno signilie:mllhc orelicalwurkhadh..'C1I1)I.l hli~r~dillII~field sinc e Somktn's SY'i1conlil'Sourcebook."••.thefinestsynl lk.'l;,isofIhefscld ufrural socio logyeverachieved"andthemoslcited reference in theirle"l(Smilhumlj'J lJl fI'''/(j p.14 rn.SmithlindZoprsownIarmIypolugyisbasedOilhmd lenuI'Clindll,lCsnt,t distinguish...arictlcsof~fill11ilyIunus"whicharcsimplyde finedilSfumlly-owucd nml large enoughtofullyemployfamilymemberswithoutrequiring"agreattlc:!1 01 suppleme ntarylabor"(ihid.p.186).
17 Furthreedcclldc~alierthe War lruppcured tlnurhc NorthArncricun ugricuhurul sccnu-wus"catchingup"10itsind ustrial co unterpar t. Thenumbers of ind ivid ual fUfl11S andfarmworkers weredwindlingrapidlybutagricultural ucrcugc, output and grosssales wereourhc riscoF:lfmswerebecomingbigger tlnd presumablymoreefficient.withsales buoyedbynewmarkets openingIII'in easternEuropeandAsia.Largecor porutions and venture capitalistsbeguninvesting in"agribusiness"uudbythemid'70sland priceswere inflntcdamlnumy fauns werehighlyleveraged.WhilethegovernmentsoftheUni ted Suncs:1IIt! Ca n:ltlllcontinuedto citethe"fa milyfarm"asthengncununtlmndc,critics llrgucJtluurhc way ce ns usdatawerecollectedand analyzed disguisedthe growi ng .tonrlnancc orccrpormc:Igrihus inc.~s(Vogeler1981p.12).Datuwere collectedonlunu of ownership(indiv idual,partnership.private orpubliccorporationcrc.), acreage,gross revenuesundnumberofcmplayccs butthesewere discretedura sets:therewasno way, for iusnmcc.10cnrrc.utcform ofownershipwithnumberofemployeesonHfarm by farm h:tsi.~,The reW,lSnil way to 11.'11ifthe ownersorucloselyheldfamilyfurmneurally Wlllkcd OilIll' evenJiveduuthetarm.Becauseoflh is,furuts C'1I11Cto beclassi fiedonthe [msisofasinglevennblc, anyOI1Coftheabove,nuhcrlh:mon.111.'basls ofthe rcJatilll1ship,~bcrwccurhcsc varlublcs(Vog ele r 1981 p.12ff.Buncl&Lngamcc199 1 p. 155ffl.Fanusweresimply classified "large","mid dle-sized" or"small "andthis "three lunu model " was adoptedtISIIbi\sis ofdiscus sio noffurm rrcnd sbythe USDA(Strange 19l'8p,CH),A"familyfarm"wasoneowned mostly byafamily.whether members actually worked onitornot.
1<
Analyze dovertime.thesesiuglc-vuriablcclas sificationsseemed111l~.\r\1111 conventionalwisdom about econo m icsofscutc:(.Ifln swereeither~ctl ing.hi~or~"'llin~
out.The"disappe aring middle"or"bimodalllislrihutionotfunns"hypo tlwsis~';l PI Ufl'd theinterestof ob servers, perhaps partiallybecausemldrllc-slzcdfarmswerelllclllilicd withfa milyfunus (Build&Lakamcc1991p.IS:!!).Therearc(llw illU .Spruhlcms with univ ari ateclassl ficurionOrrMl11S.Acontrac tSHIesbroilerupcrntionshllwing"hLl~Cgnlss incomewillhavehigh inputandlabourCOSIS,maylea seall ofitsproductiveequipment andmigh t sustai n aloss,whereas11whollyowned fa milyvege tablefurmnuy hehighly cuplrnltzcd. show ing amodest grossincome whichis, however,mO~ llyreturnedaslIcl income . AsBunclandLnpamccpointout,the"disap pe aringmiddle"hypothesissays lillieaboutthestruc ture or socialrelatio nshipsinvol vedin fa rming{ihid.p. 15~ ).
Soci ologic al andpopularaucmion returnedtotheinternalstruct uretil'theInnrily farminthelaicI970s.Encouragedbytheir governm ents andhankers IIIexpandarnl modernize(Icrthe sakeofprofit arnl efficiency] 10exploittheseeminglyinsaliah le world foodmnrkct,farmersborrowe dheavily agains ttheirovervaluedlund lS IrangeI(JXX p.156).Highencrgycostsandadecl ining export marketcreate d the"lurmcrisis",uml manyfarms wentunder.Dive rsifiedtransnationnk likeTenneco begun pullin!;:their investm e ntsoutofdirec tagricult ural production. Asbankrupt"fumllyfarmers"cumc out ofihcwoodw or k to discusstheir plighl.lhe"O ldMllcDun,IIJ"imageheldhy thelarge p,1I1ofthepublicwhich hadnever known afarmer WlISchallenged.The seweref:llIlilics withamilliondo llars andmoreinhighlyleveragedasSCI~dr iving $lfX),IXXIair
19 couditinncd veh iclesintructorca dcpmrcas(ibid. p.I S).
The farmcrisisspurred new interestin Ul1ucNllIlu;ngwtwiwas going on clownon thefUfm.Thethree(annmodeland the "bigge rls belief" hypot hesis didn 'tdomuch10 cxpfuinthb. Prlc diamldistingu ish estwo strainsof tucruuuc emergingutthis lime.The Firsl,infl uencedhypopuli sm. carnechertyfromtheUnitedSlatesandsough t 10 discover waysttlS;IVCfamilyfunningbystudyingthe successfuland unsuccessful strategiesof farmers trying to weatherthecrisis(secRodcfi cld19 78, Mooney1988, Strange1988).
'[11eSC(;1l11l1hotl yof'literature wasmorclmcmationaland influencedbyMarx is ll houg h t.
Thisgroup
or
writers wasconcernedwith explaining the apparentrobustnessofthe farm ,ISahouseholdcommodity productionun itin complexcapita listsocieties (Friedland1982 11.6( 4).FieldstudiesFromthefirstbody ofliteratureprovidehelpfulillustrationsof successf ulfarmproduc tionand exc hangestrategies not drivenbyprofitnaxinuzauo n.
ExamplesarcSlolt7JUS'p'lper onAmish agriculture(Stoltzfu s 1978p.450ff), Rogers' work onmixedfarmingin Illinois (Roge rs1987p.5 8ff),and Moone y onfarmers in Wiscollsin (Mooney1988p.69fn. Unfortunately,ty pologiesfromthisgrouptendto rely (Illqll,lI1tit,llivcd;II,1(secVogeler 1981p.I Iff, Strange 1988 p.32ff)nnhcrihanproduct io n andexclwngcrcl<lliol1ships.,IIIhoughMooney prese nts an intere stin g(thonghimprecise) rour-ccumodcthnxcdonthercl ut i~1)influenceof Ior mulrutionulity(capitalist)and subsuuutvcration ality(c raftship) onfarm decision s(Mooney1988p. 68[).
Thc second bodyoflitcnuurc.informedoyMarxist polirlcalecon omy.more deeplypcnctnuesthehucrnalstructures andexternalrelationshipsorfumllyrarllls, seeking explanation sIorthclrcontinuedexistence whichseelll~1t1Flyill theIuccof MurxistIo gic.Muchor tile discussion hereconsists of a debatebetweentworival cxplanutlo ns churac tcrlscd:ISthe "constrnintsthesis"andthe "res lllcnccthesis"
(Whatmorc 1991p.13).DefendedbyGoodmanandRedclifl,thcconuruintsthesis rcl ics onMarx'sdiscussionor thesubsumptionorprc-cuphalisrlnbourpnM:esses hy c;lpit<l1 (GoodmanandRedcl ifl198 5 p. 2381'1\Marx distinguishestwotypesnfsubsnmptton.
"Formal"subxum p tio noccu rswhencapitalsubonlirnucsnncxistinglabourproc ess without signilicantlyutteringthe relationsand mcuns ofproductlnnopcnuingwithinttau process.Surplus value is extractedindirectlythroughinterestonloans,unequalexchange.
undundcrvuhunlonof'unwugcdlubour. InthisC:ISC,thehouseholdconmuulityproduction unit"".rct:liIlScontrol oftileheourprocessandunderstandsthe technicalhasisIII' productio n..."but isconstrainedbyadependenceonthecxtcmalmnrkct suucnucs or capitalism(ibid.p.240)."Real" subsumptlonOCClll'S
whenme
internalrelationsand meansof productionare nunsfcrmcd:labourbecomesprolcturianizedandthemenusIll' productionbecomeIontechnically complicatedfurthosewithinthepnaluction unitto fully under stand.Capitalassumescomrolofthemcansof'pmducthm and extractspmlils directly through thelnbuurproccss.AsKuutskypointed oUI, real subsumptlon isproblematicinllgriclillurc becauseof the pcculiuritiesofland us ameans of production.furthermore.thefunnsite usually
21
doubles ashomesireand so rarrncrs nrc Jess likely than other smallbusiness pcn;ons to sellnut.CHpilaJtherefore opcnucs1<1diminishthe importanceof landas thenuucrial hasisofpruductlou.Throughtheintroductionofne w tcclmologlcs.confinement rearing.
hybrids.rcnlnzcrs andothc-chcmiculs.funulubouris dcskillcd,the land Irsctrbccomcs le.ssimpurta ntundrhc meansof'producrlonbecometoo tcchuiculiy cornpllcmcd for farm opcrurors10rmdcrsund.A~traditionalIarmrrocc.~scsandlocal knowledgearcmade rcduntl'lIllflynewtechnologic.s. the scope und impornmcc of internald ecisions arc reduced."lnour view,the real suhsumplion
or
agricultureisnot 10 be observedmuc
'po inlof production'of the farm.Ratherit is represented bythe long-run tendency of cnpitulmclimimucthelnbuurprocessasu 'rural'orland-busedactivity"(ibid.p.141).lhm-ictFriedmannfollowsthe logic of Chayunov inher defenseofIhe iutcmul resiliencethesis .Shedistinguishesfhc"simplecommodity prod uctionunit"as11distinct l1oIH:allil:1IislformIll'production whichcan survive mulindeed requires thecuvimnmcnt
(Ifauunnrecapitalisteconomy (Friedmann19110 p.l60fl).Anyunit geared toward runuuoditypnu juctionwillonlybe ableto reproduceitselfinIIsocinlformationwhich lucilitntcsthecirculationaml cxclumgc of commodities. While a commodityproducing uuirre1luircsthemarketsufcnpltallsmitdocsnot have 10produceitscommodnlcsin u capitalistic way.Familyfarmsfor instancetend 10hire outsidelabour.likely neighbors.10
"helpour"ratherthan to exploit.Sincefamily furrnscontrolthemeansorproducuon withtheintentIlfs implereprod uctionofthe productionunitrutherlimn prod ucing a rerumIllilnvcsrmcmthey umy bavcucom petitiveadvantage over capitalislfarms.
Friedman nnotesthat the conditionsuf producuoncouldheidenticalfIll"l'IIlthlunus1I11\1 thatchangesin socialrelationsandtheemergenceof classes withlnthc simplefllrl11 l'\IUld cnsllytransformitintothe cuphalistIonn,yet"".l'onsiderahlesocial.nulledl1lil'al conditionsresistthis trunsfonnarion" {ibid.p,175),
AnsweringcriticismsfromGoodmanundRcdclift.Friedmannarguestll:ll"..
m e
distinctivenessoffamilyenterprises lies inthelnrcrtwinlugtil'familyandenterprise":md
nun
the familyis organizedbyrolesunrl(lllwerrclatiom hipsquill'upnnFnuurhcuxual c:lpitalistrchafonsof'pruduction(Friedmann1l)!\6p,INS).Paraphnl.~in t:Ch:IY:1I111VSill' nsscrtsthat"...theunityorhousehold andenterprisecremes asuuct uml inuhilityto di ~ (in gtl b l jbetwee n the various categoriesof incomedefinedbythe separ:lliuJ1s 111' capitalistenterprise"(ibid.p.IS7).Moreover,dcclslonsl11'111111hiring outside hel p, purchasing new equipmentor ubuudoniug "inefficient"lunnprnctircs willhave effects1111 familyrelationshipsnutllifestyle whichmus tbe weighedupuinstthcincrcnscdiuconc theymight bring. Sheanswers the contentiontluutheformofproductionist:11I1tingcllllin the inputsof externalcupitalbynotingtlmt theform of'thcscinputxhasoftenbeen negotiatedhythe farmersthemselves. FinallyshearguesthatGoodmanundRcdd ift arc inappropriatelyusingthelanguage ofcapituhvm to describe non-cnpitnlistenterprise {ibid, p, 1(0 ), :111errordiscussedhyMarxhilmclfinI1u::mhofSurplusV'dllL'(M:II'x [987p,39M),Accordi ngto Friedma nn, peopleworkingtogether nmnufucturcco nsent aboutwhat it isthey arcdoing.and iftheylire incontrolofthelabourproc essthesehlcnx will tendtoshape thutproc ess.Inconclusion,sheobservesthatthe simplet:OIl11 l1otlity23 producrkmformbevo lving, hutthat much orthis may he uuributc dtothe evo lution of fumlly rehnions inalimewhenwomen'sand children's rights arc an issuelind patriarchy isundcrnttucktftrlcdmnnn]lJH6p.llJ2).
lucousuuctlng herownIanurypology,Sarah wbnunorc co nsiders thevirtuesand Shtlflcnmingsufhothviewstwtuumcrc]C)I:)I).Shefindstheconsnninrsthesis of (huxluumnml RcdclillllKImechanistic,payingscunt uttcntion10the inrcruulstructure anticousidcr.tblcugcncyorthe Familyfunuunh(Ibid.p.19).On theotherhand sheflnds Frie dm ann'srigiddistinctionoffamily nnd cuplrulisr farmstoosim p listic andher dcf'iuitlonof the familyfarmunittoo restrictive10reflectthe cvoluuon anddive rsityIll' thisIonuIibid.p.l l).Furthermore she feelsFriedmannconfusesthefamilyrurm's ability ro survivecuptmtism (hy incre:lsingunpaidfamily labour,decr easing consump tion) with lIs:Ihililytocomperewith c:lpitalislfarms (ibid.p.22).
Taking1Irealistperspective,wluumorcarguesthat previousnucmptsntiurm
ty p \ll(Jg ic.~have..."rcduccld]the [armenterpriseto aseries of morphological
cluuuctcristlcsinell1llingsizeof holding.tenure.leveloftechnologicaladvanceandtype Ill'labour{hiredorliullilyl.Theproblemisnotrluusuchdifferencesdo 1101existbuttfuu lileyha \'l.·l it1l i I Ctl ~vuluc"(whutmor c 1,'1;11 .1987:1p.25).wluumorc wouldlike 1IJ gel beyond the superficial uppcarnnccofa farmus evidencedhyits sizeand output 10 the rchuionsofproductumwhic hexplainthis appearance.Hertypol ogyis bused 011a16 cellmatrix whichrclmcsrhodegreeofinternal(rcul) subsumpucn10thedegre e of
"
external([o m1;!!) !>ubsullI pi io nonthe farm.Shecn:al~"!ionhual scalesofrelative I\.'ill.md Formal suiNlmption usingdll:followingkeyd"lCnsiuns (Wh,ltlllun: 1.'1 :11.ItlM7hp.IUSI:
Jplcm'lln· !·,l jnDs nCp m 11lrlj nn: 1,Ownershipnfhusinesscapitul 2.OwnershipIIflan dlISCrig hls
~.Business andope rational munugcmcntcontrol 4.Labourrclnrfon...
EX!l'fD'l!rrh tipllSof noxh rcl jn n:
I.Technological depende nce onmnnufucmrcdinputsund the sp.'cialisladvic:c/a~'iisl;n...'C of thcnurnulacturcrs
2.Creditrelationsconnectedwhhfarm indcblcdm:s.s lindinvnlvcmcnlofIlnunc ialc;lpital 3.Marketingdependenceinvolving ticswiththeIl'lllon(loly prod uce (lurch.,scn;, e.g.fnnt!
processing anurctailing
Bycombiningsco resFromthe onlinalscalescrcutcdforeac hofthefoernucmal andthree externalvurlnblcsrespectively,whurmorc comeslIllwithrUlifle velslIf subsuuipuon foreachaxis,cuch labeledAthro ugh D.Tuking the lIscendingdiagunaillf cells,she presentshe rtypologyor rar ms.CellAAarc"marginalclosed units",unarc
"transitional dependentunits".CCarc"irncgrutcdunits"mulJ)I)life"suhsumed units".
25
FI G. 2.1WHATMORE' STYPOLOGICALMATR IX (Whatmore etal.
19 8 7 b . p.l 0 8 )
Ex t e rn al Re lat i onsh i ps
+---+---+ - ---- -+ - ---+
o
+ I ---+ I ---+---+--- -+ I I
DOI
C
I I I cc I I
B
r---T::-- T---T---- i
+- - ----+ - ---- -+---- --+- ---- - + A
L~- _ _ LJ - -- ---LJ
Inte r nalRelationships
A~whaunorchers.:!fpoints OUi. a typologyis simplya baselinefor analysis.TIll:
inlC'I\.'Sl ingqtlcslion iswhycertainfarms(0111 in certain categories,andthismayhe CJl.pl:linL't1by/lIe:11 condutons,kinshiplies andso onaswellastilecXlernulprc!\.surcs of Lo:tpil:t1.OutWhalmuf\:'slypologyisIheorcticOlll yinfonncd ratherthansimplyil
convcuicut n'ClIIuh;nalinnof empiric.1IdalatoupproximatcIheappe,mmceofobxcrvcd plwl1nmclw.II allnwsfma grmhmJtrunsformanon ofIamllyfarms Into c:lpihllisl enterprisestus thcorgunizlngprinciple,SOI:'sIrom familylahour 10familycilpit<ll •see whuuncrcII)'JIp.5~1.undfurtluntrnusformutlontooccur stepwise overthetwo
~lilllL-l\siIlIlS .ratherIhannnastrict diagonalfrom idealtypetoidealtype.Itallowsfor the
ll g Clll' Yslrcs.",,'1.1hyFril-t.Imanna.,wellasUlCgradualsubsnmpdonproposedbyGoodman
lindRe ddin .ItprovidesIIconvenientpoint ofdepurturcfor thecomparisonofa SCiof farmsover lime, or multi plesets of farmsin differentsettings. Fur instance,itC,IlI acco mmod ateChuyunov'stypologyof 1919.Sinceshcuses thefamilyproductiveunit ratherthanthe ngriculmrulenterpriseus her unitofnuulyse,wtnumorcisuhlcIII incorponuc on-fun»non-ngricultumllahourand uff-fmmcmploymcminto her analysis, busedonwhetheritisusedfor simplereproductionofthcfamilyunit.fill'suhsidizin~
devulorisutlcn
or
familyugricuhurullabour byexternalunpitnl,Ill'forservicingcuplul requirements(whnunorc[1)1)1p.IO:ifJ).whntmorc's ideal typologyisbuill onthe two dependent vnriuhlcsIII'suh xtuuplinn whichvarynccordlngtoindepe nden t"localconditions".Localconditions couldinclude commoditymarkets,land uvnilnbilityandquality,lab ourmarkets.kinsh ippnucrus;lIldso on. The selocal conditio ns affectthe varioushouseholdproduct ion,11ll1exchange strategies.whichintumdeterminethedegreeofformalandrealsubsumpuonof household labour processcs.ln Ncwfoundlund .state policyand prllgntlll s arcimrll1l1mlt local conditions.Elfin productionandexchange strategies lireinvuriuhly influenced, sometimesrathergrotesquely,by somecombtmutooof"lunuv.uivctceh mllngy"guuus.
low-interestrelativelyunsecured governmentlnms,landimprovementgrunts.
ine xpensive lease orCro wn lan dandcomm unitypusturos.provinciallyOWllCdprm:cssillg HIll!storage fuciliticslindvariouseconomicde velop mcntprograms.uncmploymcuris high lindthe localsurvivalsrrutcgyoftakingshorttcnnjobs til ohwinlung-term unemploymentlnsumncc paymoms(UI) tnn uc nccs Iannhiringslnltcgics. Relati vely high
2J htXc.'cncourugc,UIextensive underground agriculturaleconomy.
whunnorcand bcr collcngucs conductedextensivequestion naire survey research of 26 5 farms inthree agricultural region s of sout hernEng land10 provide a descriptive accountorthe varioushouseholdforms ami10lo calethe m withinthe typologicalnuurix (Whalllll1fCct :I1.II)K7 h),Whatmorc hcrscl flhc n followedlipwith intensive caseuudtcs ofa hulfdozcnhouseh o ldsrepresen ting the range ofidealtypesto provide anexplanatory allnly.siswh ich [nukedparticulurtyatwomen's roles in the household enterprise.
(Whuuuorc]I)C)]).Although my researchproject is considerablymore modest.focusing
IlI1struc turedopen-ended interviewswiththe mem bers of 17 farm household s . wluumurc'stypulog ymatrixwouldseem 10 beagoodtool fordescrip tively typifying thosefunus,utter whichthe y couldbe discussed interms
or
theprod uct ionand exchange strategieswhichcausedthemto manifestthemsel vesasva rious types.Finally, conctusions coul dbedrawn :ISto the freedomenjoyed by househo lds ,IStheymake Slnll ct;k'dccbions.Arc they relativelyfree 10 char ttheirown strategiccourses.orarcthey nnrrowlyconfincdb y capitulandsratcsnucmrcs?"
ChapterTIm..'C RES EARCH~IET II()U."i
Tbcresearch ta.skswere1)In JQC'J.!C a regioninNcwfllllndl,lI1dwhere ilgri\:ultlll"C was historically:tnt!currently animponamccononucfac tor ,2)1111"":1111illfuflIl:Ilil1l1 aboutfarmhouseholdpracticesandahoutsurroundingSl.JCi;II. economicuudplil ili ~'ill cond itions whichwouldhaveinfluenced thesepr actices,3)Itldevelopilconvc niciu typology which would describeobserveddiversity ofhousehold forms,aml4) Inexplain thediversityintenus of varyingproduction undexchangesrnucgtcswuhun mmlysisIll' theforcesbehind these slnllcgics.
Areview ofsoil samplesurveysand lllClcorologiculrecontsl<Ohuw\.'ll tll1.'lilt""
promisingagricuhu ral region.sontheisland 10heon the!otllll!lwcsl\.'ll;lst.in ,IleC"cll.ln,y Valley andBay 5r. George South areas.Historicalrcscurchcocflnucdtluuprlll,lUCliVl:
commercialagricultureh;lljbeencarried outintbec areasfur;thUlll21K'years.Dhl'linin}:
current informationaboutfannhouscboklstn the sean:a.'1provedlIifficlill. While ugricultumlsunlstic sareregularlycollectedbyAgricullureCanada,noIichl~ludyOIPllC'lrs 10hnvcteen doneonNewfoundlandfunuhousehold Ionnsin,IIlem;t40yean;.() fIici .d~
utthcprovincialDepartment ofForestryand Agriculture inSI.John'swererumbleIII provide evena list offurrnhouseholdsUllthewe'llcum.l, lindvery fewwe'llCl1.lstfunns wereuffllhucdwith the Newfoundland Feder;llion or Agriculture.l' rllvinci:11,,j1ici:lI..
suggestedl talk10Iheloe..1Agricultur,lIRepresentativefurtheregiun undIwuv pUIin
29 contactwitnuno (linnhousehold by u professor in mydepartment,Armed with this scant knowledgeIembarked on a three-week preliminary fieldtrip10the two westernfarming
a~a.~InM:IY,11)1)3. Whenh becameobvious thutverylittlecom merc ialInnnlnghad te encurriedoutinthe Codroy Valleyfo rutlcustlen years,Idecidedtorcxtrlctmy rcscnrch10therJlIYSt.GeorgeSouthregion.
TheloculAgricuhurulRepres e ntative wasublc 10provideme withalist ofIarm househo lds
nuu
hevisitedon aregularbasis andthisbccumcthepoint of departure for Illy survey.IspentthisFirsttrip exploringthelandscapeandlocating and intervie wing key comnnmity figures:prominent farmers, governmentund deve lopme nt assoc iati on mcmtcrs.the co-oppresident undpersons in businesses relatedto Fnrmlng.Interviews wereopen-ende ddiscussionsandtended10belong.Iwas trying toformapicture ofthe communuy structure lindoflocalsoclul, political andeconomic forces,and10de velopa completelistul'"serious"local farminghouseholdsusing the"snowb allsumpllng"technique.Duringthe course of eachmrcrvtcwIaskedpurricipnntsto corrcclthe list Ilrllvided by theAg. Rcp..addingorsubtract ingnamesas ncccssury.Thi.~gave me a couscusunlhst of2fJfarmhouseholds whichwas later validated during Interviewsbythe hllllsehtlldsthemselves.
llcftthcsurveyureain Juneasfann ers bccurncbusywith planting,Returning to St.John'sIC\ll\slrueted(111extensiveopenendedsurvey questionnaire(Appendix A) which [testedtillcolleaguesandunearbyfarmer.Thequcslo nnulrc. whichtooka
JII uuumunnof4:'1minute s 10 administer,coveredahroadrange uftopics.Willi lUIprevious researchinNewfoundland10follo wIwasstillunccrtnln liSto whereIwouhl lindthe answersto my research questionsnmlso the qucstkmnulrc "skedfor hisloril",l1accountsnf theInrmsite,inforuuuionaboutcurrentfan ningpractices,ilbnutlypesand sources'll' Financial,eq uip ment,chemical lind advisoryilllllllSuud ubout marketsand uuuk ..·1 practices.IIaskedaboutthefarmlaboursumnugcmcnt structure nmlforpcrsounl\1:llaon household members.kinshipnetwor ks andemployeesus weltusopinionsulxuu gOVCl1lll1CI1Ipolicy,theconueunhy.thcfuture of f'lnningingcucral amllh islunu in part icular.
Ireturne dtothesurveyureafollow ingtheharvest andW:lS able10 scluxlutc inte rviewswiththe membersof17 nfthe 20 households overthree we..-ks.IIIcuchcusc hut one :Ill hou seholdmembers werepre sentfur
il'
leastpart of theinterview.The intervie ws usually occurred illtheevening inthe funuluursc kitchen.Whilethesuucture ofthequest io nnairegave someIormto the discussionthere wasoncnplentyof limefor unhurriedchuulng.Thescsslousoftenlasted furfou rhnur~or moreandIwasFrequently inv itedrojoln thefumilyfor supper,Sessions usua lly includedutnur nl"l hcfar m fac ilitie s.These were frien dly,open interviewsIth inkpartlyrc cnuscIwnsucurious visitorfromanothercountryandnotaflil iatcd with, I
governmentagency .Whc nIleftforSI.John's 10sort outthedntalhadthe sense,rcinforccrlhy observationsIll'the rnrmcrs themselves, uuuucsc Ianns couldhe sepnratcdlmulive
31 types .Someseemedmlldcl sof'the"pr ogre ssi ve"tarmmunagcmcr upromo tedby govcnuucnrugriculturulagents.Otherswere more conscrvnuvc. enjoyingmod estsuccess hy .slicking10 lime provenmcl h od.~.Athird group W:ISlnnnvnrivc . tryingne w techniq ues .nnlCOll1l11ollilics,lilt!look ingforuncxploitcdmarketnic hes . Others were being de velopedilSpartof'1I1curly retirementstrategywithoutimmediateexpectation or need furprofit Finallytherewere those"living closetothehnnl",udaptingthetraditional Ncwfouudlnndstrategy of'scusunul rounds10modernconditions.
InunulyzingfarmhouseholdsIwanted[0 gelbeyondthis sortof"intuitive"
typolu g ywnilc.11thesumclimeavo iding thecensus dura-based descriptivetypologiesof Illepastwhichigllllredhouseholdstruc tures. Sar ahwbnuuorc's (19S7b) approach showed promisehiltunfonunutclybcrordinutsculcsofirncrnulandcxtcnmlsubsuruprion requiredextensive Itnuscllllludatu -purtlc ulurl y inthe urea ofhousc hold finances-which Ihadmu llhtainedin thecourseofthe modestfield study.Theiltoo, cond itions in the Britishagriruhuralsectorweredifferent.In Newfuundlundlandwasavailable forlousei\t amunlualcost fromthe provinceandprivateparties.InBritainlandwashighlyvalued uudprlll'ilahlykasedhylilrgeinvestm en tcorporations.Britishfarmers often entere dinto connnctsales ugrecmcnrs. ThereWeremore opportunitieslor off-farmemployment and on-limnnnn-:lgricul tum l husine.ssc.s.Brilishfurmcrs werefill'morelikelyto adopt rumplcx »dminisnutivc,lJldIinanciulurrungcmcnts.Newfoundlandfanners were more likelyIIIrelyongovernmentdevelopmentprograms.provincialfarm loansandthe
.12 Toresolv e theseproblems while maimuiningthe1ilCl1.Son relat iveexternal (formal) andinte rnal {real)subsumption l developedapnirotunjinalscales which was mluptcdtilthe peculiarities of the Newfoundland sectorandutilize dthecollecteddala1 hadinhand (Fig.2).Table A orders the relativeimportanceoffamilyIubour andImnlly- owned landintheproductiveprocess.Here, wnnuunrcincludedvariables
rill"
eallilal ownershipandbusinessmnnngcmcut structure burs ince thesewere virtuallyide ntical acrossultsurvcycd householdsIhaveexcludedthem.thnvc includedacalegory."11011- commodit yfmnilyenterprises"whichcoversmcrcnuulce.~tah lishl1lellts(cornerstores.franchise s ClC.)ownedbyfarm householdswhichindic ate" rransuion Iromfmllilylulxurr to familycupitillilSthehouseholdorganizingprinciple(wlunnuuc1')<)1 [1,5·0 ,These011-
FarmenterprisesdonOIincludelabour orientednon-agrlculuuulcnlllllllKlilypn " ruelio n suchus lishingorloggingsincethese maybe consideredwith farmingns pari Ill'Ihe household'ssimp lecotmn odity-producingactivities.
33 FIG 3.1VALUE- ORDEREDSCALES OF DEGREE OFSUBSUMPTI ON
Internal Re l ations (Tab le A)
+ --- -- ---+- ---+---- --- --+
Source ofLa bour Formof 'renu r e cb t p Non-commodity familyent erpr i ses Family only
Fa mi lyand 2casua l
Wholly owned Borrow or lease some(minor)
Nor.e One (mino rI Fami ly+se aso nal Le asesome
3Hi red-cfamily (importan t ) Fa mily...seasonal Le a s emaj ori ty -1Hir~d> family
One (mtlljor) More than on e
Mo st la bo urdon e Lease all More impor t a nt
S by hir edhands thanf",r:n
+--- ---+--- --- --- ----+ --- -- --- ----+
External Re l a t ions (Tabl e BI
+- - ---+--- ---+--- --- ---+--- ----+
MarketEntry ExternalPaid Depend e nce on Indebt edn ess Level Labou r / Tra ns . Techno l og y
Payments Inp u t s Doo r -to - d oo r None
From St a nds Mi nimal
Minimal Modera t e
None
Mi n or
--- - --- ---+--- ----
Su p e rma r kets Impor t an t .Upto date' Av erage(go v t.
loa ns, d ea lrsJ wncfeeetere Maj orityof
Income
High ove r ext e nded
Con t ract Virtua llyall Tot al He a v i.Ly
5 (~lk tg. Boa r dl of inc ome leveraged
+--- ---+--- --- +---+ ---+
Table B measures variables connectedwithlonuul subsumption.waysinwhich externalcupitulmnycxnncrvuluc withoutdirectlynhcring the hncruutlnbourproc c....~nf thehousehold.lhuvc addeda fourthcategory 10Whatnmrc's three."Extcrnulpaid labour/transfer payments".Some householdssubsidizethelabnurcost
ur
conuuodhics whenmembersobtainoutsidewage lubourmuUorunemploymentinsurance,Tl lU,~externalcapitalcan bothexploit thewagelabourlind unwngcdfarmlabourof'the householdwithout u significantchangein lhe internal relationsufprtuluctinn."Markel entry level"measuresthe numberofstepsthe householdisremoved from the end consumer."Iedcbtcdncsss"wasnot astroublesome forthe surveyfarmsnsWlIStbc uuuvuijubilityof credit.MOSIre spondents h;KIucccssonlyto modestgovernmentkumx andcredit fromfarmsupplydealers.Onlyone seemed 10be"overextended",
35 ChapterFour
AN OVERVIEW 0Ii' TIm UAY ST.GEORGE SOUTHREGION
The"fellufS1UUYincludes IIsmnllcontiguousunincorporatedvillageswh ich stretc hacross upproxim.nclv 20 kill.
or
thesouthwesterncoastnfNcwfoundhmd midway betweenChannel-Port:lUXBilSljUCSandCornerBrook andreachlipabotn5 km10the 'rmns-cuundn Highway .nrmsdtsuncttvcgccgraphlculcharacteristicsutypicnlof Ncwfoumllundcnaswl settlementareas.There arc nonaturalharboursand the occuu rcuuuns shallowfor quitea dlstunccomto ...ca.Three riversand two large brooks descendingfromtheLong RangeMuuntuins haveprovided ulluvinl soilas well as xpnwnlng grounds for salmon . The bcsrugrlcuuurullandbegi ns attheedge of11shallow bluffuuthc shorelineand extends inlandforperhaps amilewhereit meetshogs and rocky forestland,IIUJu~hfingersof good soil follow furt her uptheriver banks.The urcu.panicularlyilltheriverbo ttoms,enjoys arelativelymild andsunnymicro climate even whencompare dwlth Step henvi lle,the modestcommercial centre about 50km,distant .
TheBuy 51. George'sregionwasaseasonal stop forthe island'sabc rigin nlpeople hutitis difficultIIIsay when Europea nsettlementswerefirstcstublishc dhero.There were certuinly Frenchuud English"livycrs"by17 13when theTreat y of Utrechtreserv ed the west coast
or
Newfoundlandfor the French migratory fisheryund prohibi tedpermanent sculcmcnt. Tho ughboththe Britishand French nuvlcs uucmptcd to enforcethis lll"tlhihit io111lle settlementsremainedand grew,practici ngsubsistencefunning andtrad ingfish with FrenchmidAmericanmerchants.Theoriginalscutc rsofthesurveym'Cll migrate dfromSundyPotm. nnearlyrmdiugcentreonnearbyFlatIsland inSt.(kn rgc's Bay.Oneof lilyinforma ntstracedhisnuucmnlIin cagchacktuawoman who was arrestedatSandyPoint amiimprisoned for a timehy theFrenchfor violatingthetreaty . TheseFirstsettlerswere English-speaking Angficenswithrootsin the Brilish wes t Countryand the Chan ne lIslands.They werefirst"olflciully "notircrlhy Wil1i:1111E.
Cormac k.who. in1820.gu idedbytheMicmac he called"Sylvester".was theIirsrnon- nativeto trekacross Newfoundland.HespentaNovembernight inwhat is!lOWthc village ofMac Ka y'sat thehome of a"Mrs.Hulanwho opcnncdun extensivefarm"
(Smallwood 1967p.412).This co mmercialfurm,foundedin theprevious century.
mnnufuctured and sold dairyproductsundhaddevelo pedtwone w vnricucs ofpota to (Hulun1991p.99). TheBritish geologicalsurveyorJ.A.JukesvisitedtheMurris/Sh ears furmonCrabb'sRiverin183 9andremark edthut itluul"...allthenppcurnnccIll'apastorul scene;11nome" (Jukes1842 p. 159).Desce ndunts orrhc,cearly scnlcrs cmuiuucIIIIann inrhcurcntoday.
In1841.Catho licScott ishHighluudcrsfleeingpersec utionuudlandtaxes heg:m arrivingfromCape Breton.whichhudbeen annexedhy NovaScotin20 years curlier (Mucphcrs ou,interview1993).TheysculcdOilthe southernend ofthe research nrcn. At uboutthistimeloc alentrepreneurs set up several smalllobstercanne rieson the hCHches to thecnnstcrmnlo nofBritish andFrenchuuthontlc s.Bylocalaccoun t theearlysettlers wcrc unindepende ntlot and thcBritish navy wasunabletndislodge thcm. Shallo w
37 waters forced \llOirshi psto anchorwell ourof cannonrange and landing:P:1I1ics11IIClTIfJling invasionbylong hoat wereroutinelyFired uponbythesettlers.The local peoplewere even granted
,I
cod qunlahytheFrench fisherywith whichtheyseemed In have cordial rchuious. midtheysold end,herringand canned lobster10dealersfromNOVllScoria and New Engl;lIIdaswell.InINKI. when west COOlSl residentswere finallyallowed legal titleto their land and buildings, and representationintheNewfoundlandlegislature,the ir ccmmcdhy base was;Ilmns lcnnrctyin lish.thoug htherewassomecoas ralt rudin g of furm products(Shaw 11)55p. ~ 2 l.The onlyoccupationullistingsinacomcrnpornrydirectorywerefor 'fishermen"(Nc w folllldlmu J Almanac 1878).The commercialpotcmialforagriculture W:ISneverthelessrccogulzc dbytheNewfoundlandgovernmentas early;IS11169 when Prime MinislerWilliam wbucwny, proposingatrnus-islnndrailway,envisioned'...truins knulcdwithminerals.umbermillugricuhurulproduce,p:Jssingfromthesmilingfields urnlgardensuftheWcst,on theirwnyto murkcrinrho metropolis"(quotedinI·liller 1971 ]15).Thecompletionofthc Newfoundlandrailwayin1897 11l<lue serious conuucrciul funning pussihleinthesurvey urcuundbrought in thc lust waveorsculcrs,Irish Catholics IrontthcSt.John'svicinity, Separatedbyunbrldgcdrivers.threeclustersof comnumftics lb'c1 t1I~lLeachwithltsown railwayslation,agrlculrurulsociety andreligion.Catholics livedinthesuuth, Anglicansin thecentre and Non-conformistsin the north,Fishing and (Milling,thercxklcntsof tile surveyareaappear10have prospered ntleustrelativeto other ruralNcwfoundtnndcrsin the first half oft he zeuiccnurry.Their Ilsl.cryWIISmore
JK
dlvcrxif...d.fcutur lng lobster,her ring andsnlmun as well ascodtheirfarmPW l l UCISwere protectedby a40% impor ttariff levied duringtheharvestseason(Shall'11)55pA:!.lnml milnnnsport wassubs idize d.Itappearsto havebeenn selle r'smarket as runnershllbl up rail curs with root crups,cabbag e. l.nnb, mutton und dairypnxlucrs houndfor wholesale grocerymerchantsandloggi ngcnrnps;1ClllS Stheisknul,
Befor eWorldWarII.farm ingtec hniqu eswereprimitiveandlabourintensive . WithoutgasolineorelectricalpowerfarmersreliedonthemusclesIll'pontes.llogs.nul largefumlllcs.Livestock roamedfreely alongthemads.meadows and wlllKliandsami wereuuuckcdhypurashusund predators.unimutandbumnn.Sheep hrnwscdonkd ll ml, l deadcnpclin washed upululIBthe beaches, ahubit whichproducedmuuonor ,Iistillctiw Flavour (Mac phersoninterview199:\ ). Crops were nor rotatedandSllthe root 1Il0lggllt.
goldennematodeand potato wartbegun to seriouslyreduce yieldsinthe1').lOs.uccnusc ofthese infestationscertain particularlyfert ilearcusincludingthe ixlundsin('rahll'sRive r nrc still unsuitablefor cultivation.
ABritish appointed Commissionassumed governanceofNcwfomullund Inllowlng the youngDominion's flnanciul collapse in ]lJ33.WhiletheConuulssionof Gcvormncnthasbeencriticised for its draconianeconomicIXllicy.theAgrlcultural Divisiondidimportqualified ngronomlsts fromBrilut',III HSSCSSandimprovetile10 c;1I agriculturalsector (Espic ]lJ1l6 p.IOO).The Division curriedon research.educarhm, extensi onundlund improvementprosmmsand,followingWorld WarIIpllt1I10 yellr
39 ,lgriculJum]reconstructionundmodernization programirno place (Shnwp.47).
The cffcclllfaJllhisontheresearcharea WllSmhlgutcdbyconc urrentinter veni ng factors.The
war
offered alternative careeropportunitiesfor young men(andsome women)ruu only Inse rve as soldiers, butto construct;1IIt!mnintuinthenearbyAmericanairh,lSCin Stephenville.Wagework becameavailableinloggingcamps and paper plants.
Tileeffects of Newfoundland'sconfederationwith Canadain1949 weremorcextensive.
In anlicill,llilillof this transfe r ofpower,manyCommissionngrlcuhurcprcgnnus were suspended. With Confederationemile theMidden lossofthe protectivetariff and,Iflood orchcnpfarm produceIromthcmainland.The umucchanizcdlocalproducers couldnol compere.Atthesamelime ,localresidentswere nowtinnilyfree 10seckjob sunthe uutinknulandmanydill. Others foundwork in theil1duslri.lIandinfrnstrucmrcprojects whichwere launchedaspartof the newprovincialgovernment'smodernization program, Thosewho remainedalhomewereoncueligihlefor someof numy newsod,l]wcJf'lI1:
helle nlS'l\'.tilalJJcandfreed IromthcJlccc,~.~il yofcontinuingnurrginalorsuhsistcnce f:U"Fllillg.Tlrcgrelllcfumgcs orthe'40,~seemto have beencurhurnc 10 ugricuhurcinthe rl'gwn.'l'hoscwhodidn'l wunttofarm didn'thave 10 anymore, andtheyleftnvailsblc land mitt lI\OI rkelstnthose who did,Indeed,oldertannersinterviewedsaidtheiropcnuions ctllltintle\ll()pm~]1erIlJltillheearlyIWills.
('hangeslakingplace intheloculugricuhurnl sectorbeginning
m
thc 196 0s rclleetetll'1wl1gesillprovtnclulpolicy,Wishing10providebeliefnutritional nltcrnutivcs't,
uudlower food prices for Ncwfo undluudersbymodernising therooddistribution system.
the governmentclearedthe way for twomainland supermarketchainsto cstublish themselvesontheislill1d.verticallytutcgnucdwithIn-house wholesale dil"isinns.11wS\.' twocnmc to dominatetheretailfoodmarket. F,lfI11CrS with111I1 g-.SI'IIHling contrurtswith lsfnnd wholesalersfoundtluutheseloc ulmcrchanrshudn 1I11lchsmallermarker share. nml thatthe new mainlandwholesalershndpriorcommitme ntsfuoIT-isl,II111suppliers.Allhe samelimetwo otherimportant commodityoutletswerelostwhenpupcrcompnnics closedtheirwnods camps andtheAmericanairbase shutdown.ColncldcutlytlK' provincialgovernmentIV,ISofferingge nerousgrants to encnuragcagricultu ral devel op me nt,IlIlUsomeInea lresidents withfallowlnndandnon-fnnnjohs returnedtil their land10rakeudvanragc ortheseprogra ms . Other landowners.line n ntecntccuml commiucdIn nun-farm occupations.begun subdividingtheir holdillgs;1I1dselling buildinglot sforresidences lindslimmer homes. reducing the :",ail;lh le farm1;1111 1. rhe governmentcounteredthisby offeringCrownlandforlcusc :1I11[suhsid iz ingltx imp rove me nt.Onthe etherhand. ilalsoshutdowntherai[way system.umlfunncrs were obligedto deliver prod uce tomarketlurhcirownvehicles.
Newfoundlandgovernmen t pol icy had ill effectlncrc uscd localgrowers' productioncapacitywhilereducing themarketforrhclr commodhlcsanddism:l1llling their deliverysystem.In order tomute Ne wfoundlandf:lI"l llSwiththetran sformed market, the governmentin the1970.,began implementin gthe sort ofsllllP[Ymaungcmen r:lIld IJlIOIasystems whichprevailed in othe r Canad ianprovinces.IIIthe dairy.broiler,eggand
41 hogsccuns producerswereissued quotasbusedon their productioncapacity.Since conve ntionalwisdomheldthatlarge operations had an eco nomyof sculcadvantagelind stnccquornscouldhe freely trudc d ,this hadthe effectofconccntmrlngproduct ionlnu fewlargescale opcnulons.Inthe surveyarea,broiler.eggandhog prod uctionCCilSCd,and milk production was restricted10one largedairy Iurm.Thequotasyste maddressedthe needs ofthe tr:msfnrmcdmarker for a predictnblc. consisten tanduniform supply nvailublcfmmaccntr nl source .NewfoundlandFarmProducts.uCrownCorporation.
handlespl'OCCS,sill g undsaleofallbroilers,eggsand(untilrecently)hogs, alltl.wolarge dairiesafflluncdwithNovuScotianlinus processanddistnbutc.111fluidmilk.Onthe otherlumd thequotasystem rcsu-ictcdthe rangeofcommodity optionsavailable to mixed
nrrns
tnucsurvcyarce.Inthemid-[lJ70sthe government attempted to addressthedistrillutiun difficulties experiencedhy vegetable producers withVegetableMarketing AssociatesLtd.(VMAL).
Fin,lIIced partlybya 30% slw c orcommoditysales, itwus tocollect.wash,grudc.
puckugc.marketanddeliver vege tables fromccnrrullocuuonsacrossthe lshmdincluding lIncloo medintheresearchllre,l,Poorlyplanned, overcapitalized;1111.1 ineptlymanaged tllutnnIlJ91 p.:!()(, )itfailed:1C1e rseveralyears,butnotbefore setting furmcrugainst fanner(somerefused tupurticiputcundinsteadunde rcutVMALprices)undconvincing most of'mylnfonunntsthatcooperation:1I11ongvegetablegrowerscouldneverhe achieved.
4.1 TH I~COl\ Il\ IUNI'I'YTOI)A Y
Tile surveyareaill1991cuutaincd1,843peopleliving.in11vill;lgcs linkcll physlcnllybythenewbridgc~whlchspnnitsrivers.rulturally hy acummonSCI"11l1 systemund polhlcully(ISnnuuincorponucdmunicipal servicesdisuiclwirh:1singk developmentassociation. Accordingto11)91CCI1SU~datn thlsisapuurrcgil111eI'C1lhy Newfoundlandstandards.The medianhouseholdincomeis $22,tJ,Jnpe r yearm\d17% ul' households urcconsldcrcd 10be"low income".Only40 men(Jutofalabourrorccof4;'il1.
and60womenout of245hadfull-timeye:lrround employment.The1I1lcl1lpluymelltmil' formenwas511%,forwomen411.1%und lIR.5%Ioryouth,orl:i 1U24 ycurs.Ahnlllhall the mlultpopulationluscomplcicdhighschool.Only 2%hulduniversitydegree"
(S uuisticsCennda1994 C:lt.Nil.95-302)
ExccpdngthetwooldcrAngficnnchurches11I1l1anUmngcLilligeno w usedasa hayhamthcreislillieevidencethatpeoplehavebeenliving hereI'm over 20Uyearx. Nincty pcrccrsofthe1101lle Swerebuiltllfler 1946,65%after1lJ60(ihid.).Nearly:tlllt r themarcsmall,closelyspacedbungal owsofIunctiunaldesign.Afewoldtwo-srory clapboardhouseswithshallowpitchedrcorssetfurther backfromthemadremindthe visitorthat theseviiluges were notsim plyplantedheresnll1ctime inthe11)60s.11ishardly theimage ofa'frmuingcommunity":fewoftheslllallyardshtJ:IStevenvcgcrnblc gardens.OccasionalploughcdIlehlsappeartncongrously wedgedbetweenclusters of bungalowsbutmostfarming nowtakesplaceon theCrownlandsncartheTruns-Cnnada
