CANBERRA, Australia – A university study has confirmed what has long been assumed about farmers.
The study, from the University of Queensland, concluded that farmers are independent people who dislike crowds, enjoy being alone on the land and are distinctly different from their urban brothers and sisters.
The two-year study by the university’s School of Natural and Rural Systems Management was based on interviews with 60 farmers involved in grazing and livestock.
According to researchers, the farmers interviewed represented a much narrower band of personality types than the 14 types that are common in the rest of the population.
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Psychiatrist Marilyn Shrapnel said the results showed most farmers have the capacity for hard work, solitude, perseverance, autonomy and coping with adversity.
Dr. Jim Davie, another researcher in the project, said he was confident a similar study in Canada would arrive at the same conclusions.
“I think it’s probably the same,” Davie said. “It’s probably an industry type, the same in Canada, in North America as in Australia. If the same study was done, the research would show that.”
“One could hypothesize that the traits they have allowed them to survive and cope with the hardships of the rural lifestyle over generations,” added Shrapnel.
It is not clear whether farmers developed their traits in response to the environmental conditions, or whether people with similar personality traits became farmers while others left the land.
“It makes sense that to cope with the challenges of that industry, the features of those five personality types would be an advantage,” said Shrapnel.
Information put to use
Davie said there are policy implications in the research.
For example, a farmer’s aversion to group situations or crowds could reduce the effectiveness of some government education programs.
Policy makers who feel they are getting a poor response to group-based education programs should look at alternatives, he said.
“The current emphasis on group learning processes in farm extension has limitations because the personality styles represented are more comfortable in one-to-one meetings.
“A very significant percentage of the population may not be reached by new technical information because of permanent or temporary incapacity to deal with the stresses which characterize rural life today.”
People with character traits poorly suited to farming used to find jobs in nearby rural towns, Davie said.
However, this option has declined as government policy has favored the withdrawal of services and resources, hastening depopulation of rural areas.
“The resultant weakening of the social fabric of rural society is a cause of tension and stress with serious health implications,” he said.
