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Identifying and measuring agrarian sentiment in regional Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Helen Louise Berry

    (University of Canberra
    The Australian National University)

  • Linda Courtenay Botterill

    (University of Canberra)

  • Geoff Cockfield

    (University of Southern Queensland)

  • Ning Ding

    (University of Canberra
    China Medical University)

Abstract

In common with much of the Western world, agrarianism—valuing farmers and agricultural activity as intrinsically worthwhile, noble, and contributing to the strength of the national character—runs through Australian culture and politics. Agrarian sentiments and attitudes have been identified through empirical research and by inference from analysis of political debate, policy content, and studies of media and popular culture. Empirical studies have, however, been largely confined to the US, with little in the way of recent re-evaluations of, or developments from, early work. This paper reports on research that seeks quantitative empirical evidence for the existence of agrarianism in the Australian community and seeks to identify its core characteristics. Using a purpose-designed sub-set of items within a large, omnibus-style survey of regional and rural Australia, we demonstrate that agrarianism exists as a scientifically quantifiable concept identifiable through responses to four key propositions: that Australians should support policies aimed at improving the position of the agricultural industries; that working in agriculture and associated industries brings out the best in people; that agricultural producers make a major contribution to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation; and that the development of agriculture in Australia contributed to the development of the national character. We found very little variation in the degree to which different demographic groupings agree with agrarianism. Older people, farmers, and non-Indigenous Australian-born respondents were among those who were statistically significantly more likely to agree with the defining propositions of agrarianism, but their scores were only very slightly higher than those of other sub-populations in the sample.

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Louise Berry & Linda Courtenay Botterill & Geoff Cockfield & Ning Ding, 2016. "Identifying and measuring agrarian sentiment in regional Australia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(4), pages 929-941, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:33:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10460-016-9684-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-016-9684-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Berry, Helen Louise & Rodgers, Bryan & Dear, Keith B.G., 2007. "Preliminary development and validation of an Australian community participation questionnaire: Types of participation and associations with distress in a coastal community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 1719-1737, April.
    2. Gene Wunderlich, 2000. "Hues of American agrarianism," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(2), pages 191-197, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Botterill, Linda Courtenay & Chapman, Bruce & Kelly, Simon, 2017. "Revisiting revenue contingent loans for drought relief: government as risk manager," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), July.
    2. Sarah Ruth Sippel & Nicolette Larder & Geoffrey Lawrence, 2017. "Grounding the financialization of farmland: perspectives on financial actors as new land owners in rural Australia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 251-265, June.
    3. Lee-Ann Sutherland, 2020. "Virtualizing the ‘good life’: reworking narratives of agrarianism and the rural idyll in a computer game," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1155-1173, December.
    4. Sarah Ruth Sippel, 2018. "Financialising farming as a moral imperative? Renegotiating the legitimacy of land investments in Australia," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(3), pages 549-568, May.

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