IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v40y2023i2d10.1007_s10460-022-10372-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Neoliberal peri-urban economies and the predicament of dairy farmers: a case study of the Illawarra region, New South Wales

Author

Listed:
  • Ren Hu

    (University of Wollongong
    Jiangsu University of Science and Technology)

  • Nicholas J. Gill

    (University of Wollongong)

Abstract

Rural Australia has been experiencing dramatic agricultural restructuring. A major contributor to this in some areas is peri-urban and rural residential developments, and amenity/lifestyle developments, including those associated with the inflow of urban middle-class groups into rural areas. These processes are intertwined with neoliberal trends in agri-food governance, and have complex effects on farming. However, there is a lack of farm-level studies that explore how professional farmers have been interacting and co-existing with urban/suburban development while also undertaking agricultural intensification and innovation. This study aims to examine how residential and amenity/lifestyle developments have unfolded in the Illawarra region, New South Wales, and come to influence and interact with local dairy farmers who are also managing the consequences of industry restructuring particularly from 2000. Based on semi-structured interviews, this study shows that with their proximity to Sydney, Illawarra dairy farms are influenced by deregulated planning systems, large-scale residential development, amenity driven demand for rural land, and the amenity/lifestyle economy. These processes bring farmers commercial opportunities and drive farmers to form new social and economic relationships with land buyers and investors. However, it has been increasingly difficult for farmers to acquire land for farming locally. They are also subjected to the expectations and demands of new landholders, including in relation to farm externalities and animal welfare. Farmers have to transform their production systems to fit into this context. The above factors together generate a form of multifunctional rural space.

Suggested Citation

  • Ren Hu & Nicholas J. Gill, 2023. "Neoliberal peri-urban economies and the predicament of dairy farmers: a case study of the Illawarra region, New South Wales," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 599-617, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:40:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10372-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10372-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-022-10372-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-022-10372-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Gill & Peter Klepeis & Laurie Chisholm, 2010. "Stewardship among lifestyle oriented rural landowners," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(3), pages 317-334.
    2. Dadashpoor, Hashem & Ahani, Somayeh, 2019. "Land tenure-related conflicts in peri-urban areas: A review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 218-229.
    3. Tiina Silvasti, 2003. "The cultural model of “the good farmer” and the environmental question in Finland," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 20(2), pages 143-150, June.
    4. Elizabeth Taylor & Andrew Butt & Marco Amati, 2017. "Making the Blood Broil: Conflicts Over Imagined Rurality in Peri-Urban Australia," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 85-102, January.
    5. Nicole Gurran & Kristian Ruming, 2016. "Less planning, more development? Housing and urban reform discourses in Australia," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 262-280, July.
    6. Amirinejad, Ghazal & Donehue, Paul & Baker, Douglas, 2018. "Ambiguity at the peri-urban interface in Australia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 472-480.
    7. Laure-Elise Ruoso, 2020. "Can land-based and practice-based place identities explain farmers’ adaptation strategies in peri-urban areas? A case study of Metropolitan Sydney, Australia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 743-759, September.
    8. David Burch & Jane Dixon & Geoffrey Lawrence, 2013. "Introduction to symposium on the changing role of supermarkets in global supply chains: from seedling to supermarket: agri-food supply chains in transition," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(2), pages 215-224, June.
    9. Albert Llausàs & Michael Buxton & Ruth Beilin, 2016. "Spatial planning and changing landscapes: a failure of policy in peri-urban Victoria, Australia," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 1304-1322, July.
    10. Nicole Gurran & Kristian Ruming, 2016. "Less planning, more development? Housing and urban reform discourses in Australia," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 262-280, July.
    11. Gerring, John, 2004. "What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(2), pages 341-354, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Enrico Gottero & Claudia Cassatella & Federica Larcher, 2021. "Planning Peri-Urban Open Spaces: Methods and Tools for Interpretation and Classification," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Chunhui Liu & Weixuan Song, 2019. "Perspectives of Socio-Spatial Differentiation from Soaring Housing Prices: A Case Study in Nanjing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Mortoja, Md. Golam & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mayere, Severine, 2020. "What is the most suitable methodological approach to demarcate peri-urban areas? A systematic review of the literature," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Jessica Ferm & Ben Clifford & Patricia Canelas & Nicola Livingstone, 2021. "Emerging problematics of deregulating the urban: The case of permitted development in England," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(10), pages 2040-2058, August.
    5. Wubie, Abebe Mengaw & de Vries, Walter T. & Alemie, Berhanu Kefale, 2021. "Synthesizing the dilemmas and prospects for a peri-urban land use management framework: Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    6. Milo Costanza-van den Belt & Tayanah O’Donnell & Robert Webb & Eleanor Robson & Robert Costanza & Jiaqian Ling & Sarah Crowe & Hao Han, 2021. "Community Preferences for Urban Systems Transformation in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-23, April.
    7. Peter Phibbs & Nicole Gurran, 2021. "The role and significance of planning in the determination of house prices in Australia: Recent policy debates," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(3), pages 457-479, May.
    8. Martin, Chris & Lawson, Julie & Milligan, Vivienne & Hartley, Chris & Pawson, Hal & Dodson, Jago, 2023. "Towards an Australian Housing and Homelessness Strategy: understanding national approaches in contemporary policy," SocArXiv h5tja, Center for Open Science.
    9. Enrico Gottero & Federica Larcher & Claudia Cassatella, 2023. "Defining and Regulating Peri-Urban Areas through a Landscape Planning Approach: The Case Study of Turin Metropolitan Area (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    10. Dadashpoor, Hashem & Ahani, Somayeh, 2021. "Explaining objective forces, driving forces, and causal mechanisms affecting the formation and expansion of the peri-urban areas: A critical realism approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    11. Saberi, Meead & Wu, Hongzhi & Amoh-Gyimah, Richard & Smith, Jonathan & Arunachalam, Dharmalingam, 2017. "Measuring housing and transportation affordability: A case study of Melbourne, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 134-146.
    12. Chris Gibson & Crystal Legacy & Dallas Rogers, 2023. "Deal-making, elite networks and public–private hybridisation: More-than-neoliberal urban governance," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(1), pages 183-199, January.
    13. Jessica Weber, 2023. "Coordination Challenges in Wind Energy Development: Lessons from Cross-Case Positive Planning Approaches to Avoid Multi-Level Governance ‘Free-Riding’," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-25, October.
    14. Cooke, Benjamin & Corbo-Perkins, Gabriella, 2018. "Co-opting and resisting market based instruments for private land conservation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 172-181.
    15. Onyebueke, Victor & Walker, Julian & Lipietz, Barbara & Ujah, Oliver & Ibezim-Ohaeri, Victoria, 2020. "Urbanisation-induced displacements in peri-urban areas: Clashes between customary tenure and statutory practices in Ugbo-Okonkwo Community in Enugu, Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Andersson Fredrik O. & Ford Michael, 2017. "Entry Barriers and Nonprofit Founding Rates: An Examination of the Milwaukee Voucher School Population," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 71-90, January.
    17. Palacpac, Eric P., 2010. "Spurring Dairy Buffalo Development in the Philippines through Cooperatives, Negotiations, and Networks," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 38(1), pages 1-17.
    18. Gustav Lidén, 2013. "What about theory? The consequences on a widened perspective of social theory," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 213-225, January.
    19. Wertheim-Heck, Sigrid C.O. & Vellema, Sietze & Spaargaren, Gert, 2015. "Food safety and urban food markets in Vietnam: The need for flexible and customized retail modernization policies," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 95-106.
    20. Kleemann, Janina & Struve, Berenike & Spyra, Marcin, 2023. "Conflicts in urban peripheries in Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:40:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10372-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.