Part-Time Farming and its Implications for the Rural Landscape: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Part-time farm businesses are assuming an increased importance within the structure of British agriculture. It is often suggested that their reduced dependence on the financial and technological treadmills driving farm development leads them to have less impact than full-time producers on the farmed landscape. Some evidence in support of this view, drawn from a survey of landscape change between 1970 and 1985 on more than 200 farms in southern England, is presented. At the same time, the findings caution against generalisation and emphasise the need to disaggregate the results. In particular, it is essential to ascertain the different roles part-time farming is playing in the development of capitalist agriculture and the strategies of farm households. There is as much variation in the rates of landscape change between types of part-time business as between full-time and part-time farming.