Good Farmers, Good Neighbours? The Role of Cultural Capital in Social Capital Development in a Scottish Farming Community
Journal article
Date
2011Metadata
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Abstract
Recent decades have seen a gradual erosion of farming incomes across the UK due to
falling commodity prices and changes to the subsidy regime. This study examines what
resources farmers are able to access informally and how this ‘social capital’ is generated
and maintained in farming communities. Using a conceptual framework based on
Bourdieu’s conceptualisations of social and cultural capital, this study explores the
evolving informal exchange relationships between farmers in a case study of Upper
Deeside, Scotland. We find that although cultural capital is important for accessing social
capital, the technological treadmill characteristic of ‘good farming’ creates a disincentive
for informally sharing machinery amongst large-scale farmers. However, social capital
remains an important resource for smaller scale farmers, particularly in terms of their
access to labour. We conclude by suggesting that, far from being a low-cost means of
facilitating community economic development, increasing the level of social capital will
be difficult in communities where labour is a scarce or expensive resource
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