SHIFTING VALUES IN AGRICULTURE - THE FARM FAMILY AND POLLUTION REGULATION

It has long been acknowledged that the notion of family continuity of farm occupation through succession is one of the central tenets of the ethos of 'family' farming, but recent evidence suggests that it is be ing called into question by family members. Farming practices are bein g pursued in a rapidly changing world, an important feature of which i s a greater level of public and political concern for protecting the r ural environment. This paper examines a range of new influences affect ing farming practice and environmental consciousness and the implicati ons these have for farming values, particularly that of family success ion. Using evidence from a study of dairy farm families and pollution regulation in Devon in South West England, it suggests that rural soci al change is providing new routes through which environmental values c an flow through farm households, influencing the ways farmers understa nd the environmental implications of their practices, and the ways the y and their families think about their long-term futures.