A Lleyn Sweep for Local Sheep? Breed Societies and the Geographies of Welsh Livestock

Abstract

This paper uses Bourdieu's (1977)

Creating culturally sustainable agri-environmental schemes

“…An important distinction between our approach and that of cultural economics is that we contend, for farmers, it is 'lowbrow' cultural capital that is important rather than highbrow forms. Research has illustrated that in agriculture much prestige and status is generated through producing quality livestock (Madsen and Adriansen, 2004;Holloway, 2005;Yarwood and Evans, 2006), producing 'tidy' agricultural crops (Seabrook and Higgins, 1988;Burton, 2004;Burton et al, 2008), and following good stockmanship practices (Haggerty et al, 2009). Likewise, status symbols (objectified cultural capital), in farming communities tend to be associated with the practical activities of the farmer e for example, new agricultural machinery (Dessein and Nevens, 2007), large grain silos (Dalton, 1967;Rogers, 1983) and the size of the farm itself (Bell and Newby, 1974;Wilson, 1988).…”

“…Burton (2004) observes that, for cereal farmers, 'yield' (tons of produce per hectare) is used to compare both (a) one year's performance with the previous year's, and (b) their performance against that of the peer group. Others have shown the importance of breeding and showing as a measure of skills in husbandry (Holloway, 2005;Yarwood and Evans, 2006), meaning another candidate measure is the highest price received for breeding stock relative to other prices at an auction. It is important to note, however, that owing largely to the variable nature of agricultural prices and the hidden nature of farmers' accounts, 'income' is not generally a good measure of the social/ cultural value of production (Burton, 2004;Jay, 2007;Schneider et al, 2010).…”

“…the Farmers Weekly "Young farmer of the year" competition) and breed societies, which are able to define the qualities of a particular breed and acknowledge farmers through formal certification and awards (e.g. Holloway, 2005;Yarwood and Evans, 2006). 2.…”

Understanding Farmers' Aesthetic Preference for Tidy Agricultural Landscapes: A Bourdieusian Perspective

“…While landscapes managed for livestock are also an important part of farming cultures (e.g. Burton, 2004;Yarwood & Evans, 2006) it is the ordered arable landscapes that are often the centre of differences between farmers and the public (van den Berg et al, 1998).…”

Building ‘cowshed cultures’: A cultural perspective on the promotion of stockmanship and animal welfare on dairy farms

“…Holloway (2001) illustrated the ethical complexity of the relationship between people and their livestock by focusing on hobby-farms, where there was conflict between the animal's role as a pet and its consumption, and, in a later paper, Holloway (2007) explored how farming technologies (milking facilities) mediate the relationship between humans and animals. Yarwood and Evans (2006) employed the sociological concept of 'habitus' (effectively, socialised and embodied predispositions e Bourdieu, 1998) to explore the cultural value of Welsh livestock and its connectedness with farming communities. Finally, Gray's (1998) work exploring consubstantiality between sheep, the farm, and the farm family offers further insights into how the identity of the farmer becomes intertwined with that of his/her animals.…”