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Demonstration farms have a long tradition and have proved to be an effective means of supporting farmers in\ud problem solving at the farm level. The new demands of complex and uncertain agricultural systems call for a renewed understanding of the approaches used and the concepts that underpin them, in particular those relating to farmer learning in the demonstration. A multi-faceted demonstration ‘learning system’ creates different contexts or conditions that enable learning. Of these contexts and conditions, structural and functional characteristics provide a good framework for analysis. This review paper aims to identify the key functional characteristics that enable learning in demonstrations. The paper provides a narrative review which presents, and builds on, the state of the art with respect to the main topic – enabling learning in demonstration farms. It draws on a wide body of literature, firstly with respect to theoretical insights into different forms of learning (single and double loop) and social learning processes, and secondly with respect to the factors that enable learning at programme level (e.g. strategies and approaches) and at farm and event level (e.g. mediation techniques). In doing this, it provides the building blocks for analysing the functional characteristics relevant to enabling learning in demonstrations. It concludes by drawing out the links between the demonstration objective, the functional characteristics and different forms and processes of learning. This work is taken from work in the EU H2020 project AgriDemo-F2F project and complements two other papers in this Special issue which examine the structural enabling environment and the cognitive processes of farm level peer-peer learning. An increased understanding of how learning through demonstration can be enabled in an increasingly complex context will help to develop institutions and programmes that aim to foster innovation in sustainable agriculture.

This paper considers the implications of the wider systemic shift from modernity to late modernity, on the process of intergenerational farm transfer. The paper argues that the shift from the collective to the individual, indicative of late modern society, is particularly pertinent in the context of intergenerational transfer, which has long been rooted in collective thinking. Drawing on the perspectives of incumbent farmers and potential successors, the paper utilises results from semi-structured interviews with 29 farmers and 19 potential successors in Devon, England. Using a thematic analysis, the paper provides a nuanced understanding of the impact of the systemic shift and the associated emphasis on the individual on successor identification. Although the paper reaffirms understanding of successor creation as a collective process, determined by factors such as gender and birth order, it also identifies an emergent cohort of younger potential successors, for whom succession was the outcome of an evaluation of farming as a career. It concludes that, within the case study area, modernization is changing the way in which farm children are identifying themselves as ‘the successor’. The paper suggests how this increasingly judicious approach to succession, leaves reproduction of the family farm increasingly vulnerable to negative externalities.

There is growing recognition that agri-food commodity markets are moving increasingly towards market-focused arrangements. In some sectors (e.g. dairy) we have already seen the development of new contracts (e.g. between farmer groups and processors) and various risk management-type strategies. Agricultural markets have always been characterised by uncertainty and contracts are by no means new forms of market practice. Nevertheless, proposed changes to CAP support post-2020 and national-level policy support strategies suggest that agricultural sectors are likely to become more market-orientated in the future, with much less state intervention. There is a need then to understand contracts and other tools and strategies that can enable producers in different sectors to manage market uncertainty and price volatility. Against this context, this paper draws on case study data from three commodities (dairy, arable and fruits) in different European regions to examine and compare strategies emerging to manage uncertainty and other business risks. The analysis adopts a farmer perspective and shows how forms of contractualisation, collective action, the use of market data, futures and other risk management schemes are perceived and in some cases actions at the food chain level. The paper problematises what is meant by ‘strategy’, especially at a farm level, given the multi-level nature of institutional arrangements, which includes complex arrangements between banks and supply chain actors. Understanding strategies as dynamic socio-material properties is therefore essential. http://ifsa.boku.ac.at/cms/fileadmin/Proceeding2018/Theme5_Maye.pdf No ISBN/ISSN ispartof: pages:1-15 ispartof: Farming systems: facing uncertainties and enhancing opportunities pages:1-15 ispartof: 13th European IFSA Symposium location:Chania, Crete date:1 Jul - 5 Jul 2018 status: Published online

Peer-to-peer approaches seem promising in enhancing sustainable agricultural systems. However, the kind of learning processes that underlie peer learning approaches have not been sufficiently studied in farmer-to-farmer settings. To answer the question how peer learning processes can foster farmer learning for sustainable agriculture, we will develop empirical research tools that can give us more insight into these processes as currently occurring in on-farm demonstration settings. In this explorative paper, we explore the common ground on how to design an integrative framework of effective farmer-to-farmer learning processes at on-farm demonstrations in the light of sustainable agriculture. During the in-depth literature search, we focussed on three main subfields in scientific literature addressing effective learning processes: peer assisted learning (PAL) process model, adult learning theory and education for sustainable development (ESD). We link effective learning processes supported by these three subfields with findings from previous research on farmer-to-farmer practices. The comparison of the three subfields led to a conceptual framework with core interacting effective learning processes defined as engagement, interactive knowledge creation and initiated communication, fostering cognitive conflict and critical reflection. ispartof: International Journal of Agricultural Extension vol:2018 pages:91-103 status: Published online

This short article responds to Fischer and Burton's article, ‘Understanding farm succession as socially constructed endogenous cycles’, featured in the last issue of Sociologia Ruralis. Broadly the article commends the concept of ‘socially constructed endogenous cycles’ as a way of conceptualising successor creation, but challenges some of Fischer and Burton's claims, with the aim of stimulating further discussion and research into intergenerational farm transfer. Drawing on a range of empirical research, the article explores the reality of the ‘recruitment crisis’ that Fischer and Burton suggest is occurring, and subsequently asks, is there an optimum level of familial succession? The article continues by exploring some of the other claims made by Fischer and Burton, including the impact of mechanisation on farm children's involvement in farm work, and challenges their suggestion that farmers are currently marginalised in society.

This report is part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project SUFISA (Sustainable finance for sustainable agriculture and fisheries). The purpose of this report is to investigate the nature of policy requirements and market imperfections, and their implications for the sustainability and resilience of inshore fishing in the county of Cornwall, England and dairy farming in Somerset, England respectively. \ud \ud (H2020-SFS-2014-2;Grant agreement 635577)