The Seeds We Sow, A Study on Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in U.S. Farm Families

The share of American families engaged in agriculture has been steadily declining since the 1930s. As this population declines, the unique, localized skills and connections necessary for success in farming have declined as well. As this knowledge is not commonly taught or recorded formally, preserving informal mechanisms of relevant skill and knowledge transmission is crucial for the continued existence of family farms. To examine these informal pathways, I examine how time spent with farming parents influences a child’s decision to engage in farming as an occupation. To answer this question, I use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a long-running nationally representative sample of households in the U.S. Limiting my sample to individuals who were raised in a household where the head of household farmed as an occupation, I examine whether time spent in their parents’ household as an adult is associated with the individual’s subsequent occupational decisions using multilevel mixed effects logistic regression models. Final results suggest that a child’s time spent within their parents’ household is not significantly correlated with whether that child later reports farming as a profession.

Embargo status: Restricted until 06/2025. To request the author grant access, click on the PDF link to the left.