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Sociology of Agriculture and Food (SAFRIG)

Hybrid Modernity Among Beef Graziers in Ohio and Missouri: A Qualitative Analysis of Adaptation and Constraint Alexandre Rehbinder*, Alexandre Rehbinder, Douglas Jackson-Smith,

Beef producers in the Midwest are confronting changing expectations about land stewardship, economic stability, consumer demand, and modern agricultural practices. The persistence and growth of intensive rotational grazing practices appear surprising within a dominant livestock-feedlot system that rewards uniformity, scale, and the principles of industrial efficiency, particularly as most sectors of agriculture continue to consolidate and specialize. Rather than viewing grazing pathways as uniformly displaced by industrial beef production, this study treats the persistence of beef grazing operations as a meaningful site of sociological inquiry. The tension between agency and structure suggests that beef production pathways are neither uniform nor unidirectional, but rather shaped by competing economic, cultural, and ecological rationalities. Beef grazier decisions illuminate how modernity is interpreted, resisted, adapted, or reworked at the farm level. Sociological theories of modernity suggest the possibility of hybrid identities, where individuals ground themselves between elements of tradition and modernity. Recent survey data suggests that most beef operations in Missouri and Ohio graze their cattle to some extent, but that the intensity and frequency of their grazing practices vary widely. Employing a qualitative design, I’ll use data from 36 semi-structured interviews with beef graziers in Ohio and Missouri to explore the utility of theories of modernity in this context to understand how grazing strategies negotiate political, economic, and cultural constraints, and position themselves within broader narratives of agricultural change. The analysis will explore how traditional values, health, ecological knowledge, and community relationships intersect with market pressures, labor shortages, material access, and land access challenges, and how these combine to shape decisions about grazing strategies. While analysis is ongoing, using iterative coding and grounded thematic analysis, I expect the findings to show that the intensity and complexity of grazing management strategies will be linked to different combinations of traditional and ecological values, community ties, and market orientation.