ABSTRACT
Public institutions establish agrarian and rural policies aimed at improving the economic conditions of farmers. The hypothesis put forward is that the family takes a decision on its future as a family unit considering both internal aspects and external factors, and this decision condition the productive changes to be introduced on the farm. Productive changes introduced by family dairy farms in the Basque Country seem to depend on a number of conditions, such as the farm's capacity for generating an adequate level of income, the possibility of finding an off-farm job, the family coming together on a common plan or strategy. The type of family is a good indicator of this reproductive plan, and forms an appropriate criterion for understanding the present characteristics of farms and future productive innovations. The commitment to farming of the central person is important for understanding present family reproduction, since farmers engaged in earning an off-farm income may reproduce the family and the farm activity.
