Commodity Competition: Divergent Trajectories in New Zealand Pastoral Farming

Abstract

Purpose – This study compares the arrival of large-scale dairy farming in two New Zealand regions since 1984 with a particular focus on the competition between sheep farming and dairy farming.

Design/methodology/approach – The case study draws on qualitative interviews with 58 farmers in two regions.

Findings – We identify and compare the changing economic, social and cultural hierarchies in and between the two regions.

Originality/value – This study extends a typical political economic comparison by emphasising the changes in social and cultural capital as a result of the changing economic conditions in the country and the regions.

Citation

Stock, P. and Peoples, S. (2012), "Commodity Competition: Divergent Trajectories in New Zealand Pastoral Farming", Almås, R. and Campbell, H. (Ed.) Rethinking Agricultural Policy Regimes: Food Security, Climate Change and the Future Resilience of Global Agriculture (Research in Rural Sociology and Development, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 263-284. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-1922(2012)0000018014