Getting past the gatekeeper: Key motivations of dairy farmer intent to adopt animal health and welfare-improving biotechnology

The complexities of the decision to adopt gene-editing technology at the farm gate are likely to be greater than a simple matter of profitability. We investigate ex ante technology adoption intentions to address how non-pecuniary motivations influence a dairy producer’s decision to adopt gene-editing (GE) technology with animal health and welfare-improving benefits. Experimental vignette methodology and a correlated random parameters ordered logit modeling approach are employed to investigate U.S. dairy farmer intent to adopt GE genetics that confer resistance to Johne’s disease (M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis), a disease that costs the U.S. dairy industry close to $200 million per year. Findings point to a general resistance among dairy farmers towards GE genetics, even with an animal health and welfare-improving application. We find that profitability is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for adoption. Farmers can, however, become more amenable to the prospect of adopting GE genetics through situational influences. Our results indicate that the successful uptake of GE technologies may be influenced by policies which protect adopters from adverse market impacts but also consider the complexities of the producer’s decision-making process.