Towards a theory of pastoralist and rancher identity: insights for understanding livestock systems in transformation

María E. Fernández-Giménez () and Hailey Wilmer ()
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María E. Fernández-Giménez: Colorado State University
Hailey Wilmer: USDA-Agriculture Research Service Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research (RSPER) Unit

Agriculture and Human Values, 2025, vol. 42, issue 2, No 15, 845-862

Abstract: Abstract This article outlines a middle-range theory of pastoralist/rancher identity, offering a framework for analyzing the meanings, symbols, and practices associated with four interrelated dimensions of pastoralist identity: identification with livestock, place, family and community, and occupation. Poetic analysis of interviews from pastoral systems in transition in Mongolia’s Khangai and Gobi regions, the Spanish Pyrenees, and Colorado, USA shows how theorizing pastoralist identity, animated by place-based knowledge and emotion, may support deeper understanding of livestock-keepers’ social conflicts and responses to change. Even in capitalist systems, livestock-keepers are often primarily motivated by maintaining identities and lifeways rather than by profit maximization.

Keywords: Agency; Climate adaptation; Environmental identity; Performativity; Place identity; Poetic inquiry; Ranching; Rangelands (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-024-10641-9

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