Succession patterns of farmer and successor in Canadian farm families

TWO different succession patterns, the entrepreneur and die yeoman, were id entified by Salamon and her colleagues (e.g., Salamon 1985; Salamon et al. 1986) among ethnic families on century farms. The applicability of this typ ology for succession on Canadian farms was assessed among 36 families who h ad transferred or were making provisions for transferring the farm. Case st udies revealed patterns consistent with the Salamon typology for a quarter of our families, but the yeoman and entrepreneur styles were not the centra l contrast that differentiated them. Instead, two approaches to farm manage ment were identified: the expander and the conservator. The combination of these two approaches in the older farmer and younger successor comprise fou r farmer-successor succession patterns: expander-expander; expander-conserv ator; conservator-expander; and conservator-conservator. Each style has dif ferent working relationships, succession strategies, and areas of potential difficulty.