Retirement as a Discrete Life-Stage of Farming Men and Women's Biography

Bibliographic Data

ID4445823
AuthorsSandra Contzen (0000-0001-6508-1313, School for Agriculture, Forest and Food Sciences, HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Laenggasse 85 3052 Zollikofen Switzerland, corresponding author), Karin Zbinden (School for Agriculture, Forest and Food Sciences, HAFL, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Laenggasse 85 3052 Zollikofen Switzerland, corresponding author), Cécile Neuenschwander (Institute on Ageing, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Schwarztorstrasse 48 3007 Bern Switzerland, corresponding author), Michèle Métrailler (Institute on Ageing, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Schwarztorstrasse 48 3007 Bern Switzerland, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume57
IssueS1
Pages730-751
Publication date2017-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociologia Ruralis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0199 • E-ISSN: 1467-9523
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/soru.12154
OpenAlexW2547887807
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited40

Retirement generally marks the end of working life and the start of a new life-stage, providing the potential for new contents and opportunities, while requiring adaptation of existing roles. Retired Swiss farming men and women usually continue working and living on the farm, but their roles change. Drawing on conceptual approaches from gerontology research, we first aim to comprehend how farming men and women experience and understand retirement by describing major aspects of adaptation during their transition to retirement. Second, we appraise the relevance of the retirement concept for the farming population. Qualitative-empirical evidence shows that retired farming men and women continue to devote time and energy to the farm for the sake of farm continuity and to maintain the farmers' work ethic, while transferring financial and managerial responsibility. Poor health and the inability to contribute physically to the family farm appear as major threats for 'ageing' farmers

Adaptation (eye) · Agriculture · Business · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Empirical evidence · Family farm · Geography · Political science · Relevance (law) · Sociology · Work (physics) · Engineering · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Rural development and sustainability · Gerontology

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