The “Dreaded” Daughter-in-Law in Australian Farm Business Succession

Gendered analyses of simple commodity production find that the flexibility of family labour and patriarchal gender relations enable the survival of the family farm. This article examines how the land holding generation perceives the role of the farm daughter-in-law in relation to family labour dynamics and broader succession processes. Drawing on interviews with 22 farm succession professionals, our analysis demonstrates that the daughter-in-law’s contribution to the family farm is perceived as producing the next generation of the farming family and providing off farm income to enable farm viability during weather and commodity price fluctuations. Egalitarian gender norms impacting legislative rights to property are seen as a threat to the successful transfer of the family farm. Attempts by the daughter-in-law to influence the farm succession process are met with discursive and material defensive mechanisms. Given the reliance of Australian family farms on women’s labour contributions, these actions may threaten rather than ensure the continuity of family farming.