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Abstract Farming styles theory, as developed by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg to explain diversity in agriculture, is being considered as a possible tool to assist in targeting of extension in Australia. A farming style is a socially constructed type that reflects the worldviews and strategies of one configuration of farming practice for a particular commodity (or common combination of commodities) in a particular region. The various farming styles in a region represent a repertoire of possible worldviews and strategies. We first conducted focus groups to identify farming styles among Australian broadacre croppers. We then conducted case studies to validate these styles, and to gain further understanding of the rationale of each style. The case studies, however, failed to confirm the styles. The findings instead suggested that the styles which emerged from the focus groups were artifacts of the method. We conclude that focus group methodology legitimized the expression of stereotypical images grounded in local farming discourse and provided an avenue for reification of "mythological" styles, although the styles still provided social control over farmers' activities. Researchers should be aware that focus groups potentially allow the expression of mythology, and should reflect on the validity of data collected by this method.

AbstractVan der Ploeg's 'styles of farming' approach attempts to explain the social nature of diversity in agriculture. For over 10 years we have attempted to apply this concept to a range of farming situations in Australia. This article reviews the issues posed by Vanclay et al. in 1998 and provides insight into what have been the developments in the concept of farming styles. We utilise the results of three studies in Australia: a study of farming styles in broadacre cropping and grazing farmers in the Riverina region of New South Wales; a study of grape growers in the Sunraysia district of Victoria and a separate study of grape growers across south‐eastern Australia. While this research was intended to validate the existence of styles and to provide evidence of the usefulness of the concept and its application in rural industries, we were unable to replicate or validate van der Ploeg's original conceptualisation and methodology. We conclude that farming styles are more of an intellectual construction than a social construction. Nevertheless, we believe that the concept of farming styles is a useful heuristic and a new framework for understanding farming styles is presented.