WORKING OFF THE FARM - IMPACTS ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of off-farm empl oyment on perceptions of quality of life. Data collected on 311 Wester n Ontario male and female farmers revealed that although most indicate d satisfaction with their lives, some differences are apparent. Women employed off the farm report more areas of lower satisfaction than the ir male counterparts and men and women working solely on the farm. Low levels of satisfaction with time issues, leisure and exercise were mo st evident for employed women. Men employed off the farm report the mo st effects from time issues, satisfaction with the farm business, inco me and the environment. People working off the farm feel their farms a re less successful and are more concerned with their environment. Wher eas the farm family's pluriactivity enables many to hold on to cherish ed aspects of the farming lifestyle for a while, its burdens are perce ived to fall heaviest on female farmers especially if they have young children. The magnitude of their concerns about the quality of their e nvironment and not being able to farm successfully suggests that many of these farmers would improve their quality of life by speeding up th e transition out of farming before all their farm's equity is lost.