Entering the occupational category of 'Farmer': new pathways through professional agricultural education in Ireland.

Purpose: Understand the emergence of new potential career trajectories in the liberalised Irish dairy farming sector through analysis of the narratives of students of a Professional Diploma in Dairy Farm Management Design/methodology/approach: A review of the literature highlights that entry to a working life in agriculture has been characterised by protracted farm succession processes; a strong association between being a farmer and owning land in the family name; lingering male identities esteeming manual labour; and a pragmatic need at farm level for manual work. The abolition of milk quota in 2015 was predicted to catalyse expansion of production on dairy farms with an increase in milk production; accompanied by a demand for qualified personnel. The BNIM method was employed. Findings: Results confirm that agricultural education is perceived and experienced as offering new pathways for young farmers to enter the occupational category of 'farmer', helping to manoeuvre around the constraints of non-inheritance. The students' narratives evidenced managerial identities, being strongly influenced by encountering management approaches through their agricultural education. All students desired to eventually own a farm someday and to be to employed as a professional dairy farm manager was a perceived as an intermediary goal. Practical implication: Discontinuation of the traditional family farming model based on family farm/land ownership is not imminent even among a cohort qualified to become employed dairy farm managers. Theoretical implication: This paper contributes to theoretical framework which highlights the shift in farmer masculine identity and the career trajectory of graduates of specialised agricultural education programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]