Beyond 'get big or get out': Female farmers' responses to the cost-price squeeze of Australian agriculture

Abstract

This research examines how female agricultural producers are responding to the cost-price squeeze of Australian agriculture. Thirty-six in-depth interviews were conducted with female producers in a variety of sectors from across Australia. In order to maintain viability female producers are seeking alternative methods of production and marketing, rather than pursing economies of scale. Female producers are seeking alternatives to hegemonic agriculture due to its gendered financial and social constraints. This involves the sustainable production of niche products on smaller plots of land and direct marketing to capture more of the economic value of their products and to reduce risk. This research highlights ways in which producers can stay on farm and contribute to the creation of alternate food systems. It represents an alternative to the competitive productivist agricultural approach of “get big or get out” and improves the visibility of women farmers and a shift in the masculinist construction of farming. These alternative production and marketing methods have the potential to benefit Australian agriculture, rural communities, to create more equal gender regimes and to improve environmental sustainability.