Farming is an interesting activity as it's interests tends to spread out over multiple interest groups, far beyond the pervue of the agricultural industry alone. Farmers are represented in one degree or another by:

• Business Groups
• Conservative "Value Groups" e.g. Conservative Citizens Council
• Environmentalists
• Liberal "Fair Pratices" Groups e.g. National Farmers Union
• Motorsports
• Sportsman

The diversity in groups that represent or suppostly represent the interest of the farmer is fascinating. It represents they many modes that exist on contemporary family farm:

• Cultural Insitution Creating Values
• Employeer of Youth, Poor, and Migrants
• Enviromental and Open Space Protection
• Providing Recreation for Owning Family and Others
• Selling Farm Products
• Struggling Traditionalism in Face of Modernity

These values are often contradictory and sometimes play out in troublesome ways for the contemporary farmer. Many farmers and the community surrounding it are plagued by these inherit contradictions that create conflict at a personal and political level. It could be argued that many of these inherit conflicts are dialectical in nature, divided by traditional practices versus modern practices:

This list is far from all inclusive. It does however suggest the difference between farmers and the choices they make operating their farm. There is no clear definition of which of these things are better or worst, but one is more traditional and one is more modern. When we think about farmers and farming we should look at all these value conflicts and try to figure out why a farmer acts in a certain way and why it exists in a certain location in our social reality.