The Future of Rural Communities: The Impact of Farm Consolidation on Community Vitality and Individual Well-Being

Abstract

While some regional areas of Australia are prospering, the decline of small rural towns has been well documented over recent decades. A major contributor has been the move from traditional single family farms towards consolidating farms in response to changing international economies and technology advancement. The environmental and economic effects of this change in farm structure have been considered extensively, however the psychosocial outcomes for rural and remote residents have been poorly researched. The current study addressed whether remote residents were concerned about the effects of farm consolidation on their community’s vitality and whether this was related to their individual well-being. Residents of the Southern Mallee region in South Australia completed online questionnaires. The prevalence of high concern in the population was 65.5% (95% CI: 53.3 to 77.7) indicating that majority of residents were highly concerned about the effects of farm consolidation. A moderation analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between perceived community vitality, social support and subjective well-being. The results provided evidence for a positive relationship between perceived community vitality and subjective well-being, which was stronger for participants with low social support than those with high social support. It was concluded that for people with low social support, their well-being is dependent on their perception of the community’s vitality, whereas high social support acts as a protective buffer. Given the decline of rural towns may be inevitable, future policy makers should consider the importance of maintaining social support systems to improve the well-being of rural residents.