Redefining the meaning of family farm
AN EXAMPLE of how “family farm, ” a phrase that used to conjure up the modest and homely, has been re-defined within a generation was given by William Grimsdale this week.
In the past 30 years, even the family farm has seen livestock numbers increase dramatically, machinery sizes treble and quadruple as the labour force declines, family members find outside jobs, and technology and cost-cutting become paramount.