Transition and adaptation

This article analyses how Danish farm families adapted to harsh and changing conditions in the period after the great western agricultural crisis in the early 1980s. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and adaptation, I analyse the creation and consolidation of different class fractions amongst farm families due to different adaptation strategies. The data contain information about the population of self-employed farmers and their families who were between 30–35 years old in 1980 (n = 9,123). Using sequence analysis, I examine farm families' adaptation strategies for maintaining their agricultural production annually from 1980–2008. The result is a five-farmer typology that, together with logit regression models including background covariates, reveals how the farm families' adaptation strategies relate to educational level, financial situation, family composition and whether the farmer can receive help from a spouse or other close family members.