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Local -- If Possible: How the Spatial Networking of Economic Relations amongst Farm Enterprises Aids Small Town Survival in Rural Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Bill Pritchard
  • Neil Argent
  • Scott Baum
  • Lisa Bourke
  • John Martin
  • Phil Mcmanus
  • Anthony Sorensen
  • Jim Walmsley

Abstract

Pritchard B., Argent N., Baum S., Bourke L., Martin J., McManus P., Sorensen A. and Walmsley J. Local -- if possible: how the spatial networking of economic relations amongst farm enterprises aids small town survival in rural Australia, Regional Studies . Over recent decades, the tendency in developed countries has been the consolidation of farms into fewer and larger units, and a shifting of economic functions from smaller to larger population settlements. This paper uses data from face-to-face interviews with 115 Australian farmers in agriculture-dependent regions to investigate how the spatial pattern of farm expenditure affects these processes. It is concluded that in these spatial contexts, stability, attachment, and reliance on ‘the local’ remain vital components in farm--town economic links, notwithstanding substantial adaptation by farmers to restructured economic and community circumstances. Such expenditures help sustain small towns, thus tempering judgements on rural decline. Pritchard B., Argent N., Baum S., Bourke L., Martin J., McManus P., Sorensen A. et Walmsley J. Localement -- de pr�f�r�nce: comment la constitution de r�seaux g�ographiques de relations �conomiques parmi les exploitations agricoles aide la survie des petites villes en Australie rurale, Regional Studies . Au cours des d�cennies r�centes, la tendance des pays d�velopp�s est à la consolidation des exploitations en moins d'unit�s de taille plus importante, et au d�placement des fonctions �conomiques des pays plus petits à des pays plus grands. Cet article emploie des donn�es qui proviennent des faces-à-faces auprès de 115 exploitants agricoles australiens situ�s dans des r�gions à vocation agricole afin d'examiner comment la distribution g�ographique des d�penses agricoles influe sur ces processus. On conclut que dans de tels contextes g�ographiques, la stabilit�, les relations, et la d�pendance vis-à-vis du ‘local’, restent des �l�ments cl�s des liens �conomiques entre les exploitations agricoles et les villes, en d�pit d'importantes adaptations par les exploitants agricoles à la restructuration des situations �conomiques et communautaires. De telles d�penses aident le soutien aux petites villes, ce qui att�nuent les jugements sur le d�clin rural. Petites villes Restructuration rurale Australie Agriculture Thèse sur le d�couplage Pritchard B., Argent N., Baum S., Bourke L., Martin J., McManus P., Sorensen A. und Walmsley J. Lokal -- wenn möglich: wie das räumliche Netzwerk der Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben Kleinstädten in ländlichen Gebieten Australiens beim Überleben hilft, Regional Studies . In den letzten Jahrzehnten ging die Tendenz in den Entwicklungsländern hin zu einer Zusammenlegung von landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben zu größeren Einheiten in geringerer Anzahl sowie zu einer Verlagerung der Wirtschaftsfunktionen von Siedlungen mit kleineren zu Siedlungen mit größeren Bevölkerungszahlen. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand der Daten von Einzelinterviews mit 115 australischen Landwirten in von der Landwirtschaft abhängigen Regionen untersucht, wie sich das räumliche Muster der Ausgaben von landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben auf diese Prozesse auswirkt. Es wird der Schluss gezogen, dass innerhalb dieser räumlichen Kontexte die Stabilität, die Verbundenheit und das Vertrauen in ‘das Lokale’ wesentliche Komponenten der wirtschaftlichen Verknüpfungen zwischen landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben und Städten bleiben, wobei es keine Rolle spielt, ob sich die Landwirte in erheblichem Umfang an die umstrukturierten wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Umstände angepasst haben. Diese Ausgaben helfen beim Erhalt von Kleinstädten und mäßigen somit die Urteile über den Niedergang ländlicher Gebiete. Kleinstädte Ländliche Umstrukturierung Australien Landwirtschaft Entkopplun gsthese Pritchard B., Argent N., Baum S., Bourke L., Martin J., McManus P., Sorensen A. y Walmsley J. Local, si es posible: cómo la red espacial de las relaciones económicas entre las empresas agrarias ayuda a la supervivencia de pequeñas ciudades en la Australia rural, Regional Studies . Durante las últimas d�cadas, la tendencia en los pa�ses desarrollados ha sido la consolidación de las empresas agr�colas en un menor número de unidades mayores, y un desplazamiento de las funciones económicas desde poblaciones más pequeñas a poblaciones más grandes. En este art�culo utilizamos datos de entrevistas personales con 115 granjeros australianos en regiones dependientes de la agricultura para investigar cómo influye el modelo espacial del gasto agr�cola en estos procesos. Concluimos que en estos contextos espaciales, la estabilidad, la conexión y la confianza en ‘lo local’ son componentes vitales en los v�nculos económicos entre las ciudades y las granjas, pese a la adaptación sustancial por parte de los agricultores a las circunstancias económicas y comunitarias reestructuradas. Tales gastos ayudan a sostener las pequeñas ciudades, atenuando los juicios sobre el declive rural. Pequeñas localidades Reestructuración rural Australia Agricultura Tesis de desligamiento

Suggested Citation

  • Bill Pritchard & Neil Argent & Scott Baum & Lisa Bourke & John Martin & Phil Mcmanus & Anthony Sorensen & Jim Walmsley, 2012. "Local -- If Possible: How the Spatial Networking of Economic Relations amongst Farm Enterprises Aids Small Town Survival in Rural Australia," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 539-557, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:46:y:2012:i:4:p:539-557
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2010.504704
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Unknown, 1999. "Impact of Competition Policy Reforms on Rural and Regional Australia," Inquiry Reports 31892, Productivity Commission.
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    1. Shearmur Richard & Doloreux David, 2022. "Innovation, scaling-up, and local development in peripheral regions: do establishments scale-up locally?," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 66(4), pages 185-200, November.
    2. Z. Whitman & T. Wilson & E. Seville & J. Vargo & J. Stevenson & H. Kachali & J. Cole, 2013. "Rural organizational impacts, mitigation strategies, and resilience to the 2010 Darfield earthquake, New Zealand," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 69(3), pages 1849-1875, December.
    3. Yin, Xu & Wang, Jing & Li, Yurui & Feng, Zhiming & Wang, Qianyi, 2021. "Are small towns really inefficient? A data envelopment analysis of sampled towns in Jiangsu province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Patrick O’Keeffe, 2018. "Creating a governable reality: analysing the use of quantification in shaping Australian wheat marketing policy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 553-567, September.
    5. Jia Zhong & Shaoquan Liu & Min Huang & Sha Cao & Hui Yu, 2021. "Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settlements in Mountainous Areas Based on Structural Equation Models: A Case Study in Western China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Juliane Haensch & Sarah Ann Wheeler & Alec Zuo, 2021. "Explaining permanent and temporary water market trade patterns within local areas in the southern Murray–Darling Basin," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(2), pages 318-348, April.
    7. Newsome, Lucie & Sheridan, Alison, 2018. "Taking Stock: Identifying the Growing Agricultural Service Sector in Australia," Australasian Agribusiness Review, University of Melbourne, Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, vol. 26.
    8. Helen McGrath & Tom O’Toole, 2014. "Chapter 19: The Challenges and Opportunities in the Development of Rural Small-To-Medium Sized Enterprises," Chapters from Rural Economic Development in Ireland, in: Rural Economic Development in Ireland, edition 1, chapter 19, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.

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