IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v78y2018icp562-571.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors influencing dairy farmers’ adoption of best management grazing practices

Author

Listed:
  • Hyland, John J.
  • Heanue, Kevin
  • McKillop, Jessica
  • Micha, Evgenia

Abstract

Understanding of farmers’ influences relating to the adoption of innovations is imperative for the Irish dairy sector to improve efficiencies and productivity. There is a particular need for a better appreciation of how farmers’ grassland management practices are shaped. The Spring Rotation Planner (SRP) is a management tool that divides the area of a farm into weekly portions and takes the estimation out of planning the first grazing rotation. It offers a cost-saving alternative on many dairy farms, which could contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the sector. Adoption rates of the SRP amongst farmers have been low despite extensive promotion of its advantages. This study therefore aims to use psychological constructs to analyse factors that affect the adoption of the SRP by commercial dairy farmers in Ireland. Dairy farmers (n = 256) were surveyed from different regions within the country. Principal Component Analysis was used to empirically confirm the hypothesised Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) beliefs. Cluster analysis was thereafter employed as classification criteria to cluster respondents into types. The TPB was subsequently applied to explain intention to implement the SRP. Two clusters of farmers were elicited; low and high adopters of the SRP. Low-Adopters of the SRP were characterised by their high sense of resource constraint. It is recommended that carefully planned communication, targeted at the different farmer types, can help encourage uptake of the SRP.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyland, John J. & Heanue, Kevin & McKillop, Jessica & Micha, Evgenia, 2018. "Factors influencing dairy farmers’ adoption of best management grazing practices," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 562-571.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:78:y:2018:i:c:p:562-571
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.07.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717308451
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.07.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Läpple, Doris & Kelley, Hugh, 2013. "Understanding the uptake of organic farming: Accounting for heterogeneities among Irish farmers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 11-19.
    2. Kelly, Edel & Heanue, Kevin & Buckley, Cathal & O'Gorman, Colm, 2015. "Proven Science versus Farmer Perception," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 229067, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Gyau, Amos & Voss, Julian & Spiller, Achim & Enneking, Ulrich, 2009. "Farmer Acceptance of Genetically Modified seeds in Germany: Results of a Cluster Analysis," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Hyland, J.J. & Styles, D. & Jones, D.L. & Williams, A.P., 2016. "Improving livestock production efficiencies presents a major opportunity to reduce sectoral greenhouse gas emissions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 123-131.
    5. Hyland, John J. & Heanue, Kevin & McKillop, Jessica & Micha, Evgenia, 2018. "Factors underlying farmers' intentions to adopt best practices: The case of paddock based grazing systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 97-106.
    6. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    7. Nigel Key, 2005. "How much do farmers value their independence?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(1), pages 117-126, July.
    8. Tingting Liu & Randall J. F. Bruins & Matthew T. Heberling, 2018. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adoption of Best Management Practices: A Review and Synthesis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-26, February.
    9. Knowler, Duncan & Bradshaw, Ben, 2007. "Farmers' adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 25-48, February.
    10. El-Osta, Hisham S. & Morehart, Mitchell J., 1999. "Technology Adoption Decisions In Dairy Production And The Role Of Herd Expansion," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 28(1), pages 1-12, April.
    11. Aguilera, Ana M. & Escabias, Manuel & Valderrama, Mariano J., 2006. "Using principal components for estimating logistic regression with high-dimensional multicollinear data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 50(8), pages 1905-1924, April.
    12. Thia Hennessy & Doris Läpple & Brian Moran, 2016. "The Digital Divide in Farming: A Problem of Access or Engagement?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 38(3), pages 474-491.
    13. El-Osta, Hisham S. & Morehart, Mitchell J., 1999. "Technology Adoption Decisions in Dairy Production and the Role of Herd Expansion," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(1), pages 84-95, April.
    14. Kim, Seon-Ae & Gillespie, Jeffrey M. & Paudel, Krishna P., 2008. "Rotational grazing adoption in cattle production under a cost-share agreement: does uncertainty have a role in conservation technology adoption?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 52(3), pages 1-18.
    15. van Rensburg, Thomas M. & Kelley, Hugh & Jeserich, Nadine, 2015. "What influences the probability of wind farm planning approval: Evidence from Ireland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 12-22.
    16. Howley, Peter & Buckley, Cathal & O Donoghue, Cathal & Ryan, Mary, 2015. "Explaining the economic ‘irrationality’ of farmers' land use behaviour: The role of productivist attitudes and non-pecuniary benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 186-193.
    17. van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada & Munda, Giuseppe, 2000. "Alternative models of individual behaviour and implications for environmental policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 43-61, January.
    18. Andrew Barnes & Luiza Toma, 2012. "A typology of dairy farmer perceptions towards climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 507-522, May.
    19. J. Bidogeza & P. Berentsen & J. Graaff & A. Oude Lansink, 2009. "A typology of farm households for the Umutara Province in Rwanda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 1(3), pages 321-335, September.
    20. Läpple, Doris & Renwick, Alan & Thorne, Fiona, 2015. "Measuring and understanding the drivers of agricultural innovation: Evidence from Ireland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-8.
    21. Jeffrey Gillespie & Seon‐Ae Kim & Krishna Paudel, 2007. "Why don't producers adopt best management practices? An analysis of the beef cattle industry," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 36(1), pages 89-102, January.
    22. Kobrich, C. & Rehman, T. & Khan, M., 2003. "Typification of farming systems for constructing representative farm models: two illustrations of the application of multi-variate analyses in Chile and Pakistan," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 141-157, April.
    23. Joyce Willock & Ian J. Deary & Gareth Edwards‐Jones & Gavin J. Gibson & Murray J. McGregor & Alistair Sutherland & J. Barry Dent & Oliver Morgan & Robert Grieve, 1999. "The Role of Attitudes and Objectives in Farmer Decision Making: Business and Environmentally‐Oriented Behaviour in Scotland," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 286-303, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nettle, R. & Morton, J.M. & McDonald, N. & Suryana, M. & Birch, D. & Nyengo, K. & Mbuli, M. & Ayre, M. & King, B. & Paschen, J.-A. & Reichelt, N., 2021. "Factors associated with farmers’ use of fee-for-service advisors in a privatized agricultural extension system," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Ting Zhang & Jia Li & Yan Wang, 2023. "Effects of Livelihood Capital on the Farmers’ Behavioral Intention of Rural Residential Land Development Right Transfer: Evidence from Wujin District, Changzhou City, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Elahi, Ehsan & Zhang, Hongxia & Lirong, Xing & Khalid, Zainab & Xu, Haiyun, 2021. "Understanding cognitive and socio-psychological factors determining farmers’ intentions to use improved grassland: Implications of land use policy for sustainable pasture production," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    4. Pathak, Santosh & Wang, Hua & Adusumilli, Naveen C., 2021. "Quantifying the dynamics of agricultural conservation practices in the Delta region," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313916, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Orla Kathleen Shortall, 2022. "A Qualitative Study of Irish Dairy Farmer Values Relating to Sustainable Grass-Based Production Practices Using the Concept of ‘Good Farming’," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Alba Vázquez-López & Martín Barrasa-Rioja & Manuel Marey-Perez, 2021. "ICT in Rural Areas from the Perspective of Dairy Farming: A Systematic Review," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Wang, Mingliang & Gong, Shunlong & Liang, Luyu & Bai, Li & Weng, Zhenlin & Tang, Jin, 2023. "Norms triumph over self-interest! The role of perceived values and different norms on sustainable agricultural practices," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Samal Kaliyeva & Francisco Jose Areal & Yiorgos Gadanakis, 2020. "Attitudes of Kazakh Rural Households towards Joining and Creating Cooperatives," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    9. Toro-Mujica, Paula & Vera, Raúl & Pinedo, Pablo & Bas, Fernando & Enríquez-Hidalgo, Daniel & Vargas-Bello-Pérez, Einar, 2020. "Adaptation strategies based on the historical evolution for dairy production systems in temperate areas: A case study approach," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    10. Elizabeth Ahikiriza & Jef Meensel & Xavier Gellynck & Ludwig Lauwers, 2021. "Heterogeneity in frontier analysis: does it matter for benchmarking farms?," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 69-84, December.
    11. Lorraine Balaine & Doris Läpple & Emma J Dillon & Cathal Buckley, 2023. "Extension and management pathways for enhanced farm sustainability: evidence from Irish dairy farms," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(2), pages 810-850.
    12. Daniel Kangogo & Domenico Dentoni & Jos Bijman, 2020. "Determinants of Farm Resilience to Climate Change: The Role of Farmer Entrepreneurship and Value Chain Collaborations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.
    13. Tsakiridis, Andreas & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Hynes, Stephen & Kilcline, Kevin, 2020. "A Comparison of Environmental and Economic Sustainability across Seafood and Livestock Product Value Chains," Working Papers 309507, National University of Ireland, Galway, Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit.
    14. Alba Vázquez-López & Manuel Marey-Perez, 2021. "Factors Affecting e-Government Adoption by Dairy Farmers: A Case Study in the North-West of Spain," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, August.
    15. Traxler, Emilia & Li, Tongzhe, 2020. "Agricultural Best Management Practices, A summary of adoption behaviour," Working Papers 305271, University of Guelph, Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy.
    16. Shi, Yuxing & Cai, Yu & Zhao, Minjuan, 2021. "Social interaction effect of rotational grazing and its policy implications for sustainable use of grassland: Evidence from pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia and Gansu, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hyland, John J. & Heanue, Kevin & McKillop, Jessica & Micha, Evgenia, 2018. "Factors underlying farmers' intentions to adopt best practices: The case of paddock based grazing systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 97-106.
    2. Daxini, Amar & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Ryan, Mary & Buckley, Cathal & Barnes, Andrew P., 2018. "Factors influencing farmers' intentions to adopt nutrient management planning: accounting for heterogeneity," 166th Seminar, August 30-31, 2018, Galway, West of Ireland 276183, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Daxini, Amar & O'Donoghue, Cathal & Ryan, Mary & Barnes, Andrew & Buckley, Cathal & Daly, Karen, 2018. "Which factors influence farmers’ intentions to adopt nutrient management planning?," 92nd Annual Conference, April 16-18, 2018, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 273498, Agricultural Economics Society.
    4. Dmytro Serebrennikov & Fiona Thorne & Zein Kallas & Sinéad N. McCarthy, 2020. "Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices in Europe: A Systemic Review of Empirical Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Daxini, Amar & O'Donoghue, Cathal & Ryan, Mary & Barnes, Andrew & Buckley, Cathal & Daly, Karen, 2018. "Which factors influence farmers’ intentions to adopt nutrient management planning?," 92nd Annual Conference, April 16-18, 2018, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 273494, Agricultural Economics Society.
    6. Upadhaya, Suraj & G. Arbuckle, J. & Schulte, Lisa A., 2023. "Farmer typologies integrating latent and observed characteristics: Insights for soil and water conservation outreach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. François J Dessart & Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé & René van Bavel, 2019. "Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 417-471.
    8. Traxler, Emilia & Li, Tongzhe, 2020. "Agricultural Best Management Practices, A summary of adoption behaviour," Working Papers 305271, University of Guelph, Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy.
    9. Kreft, Cordelia & Huber, Robert & Wuepper, David & Finger, Robert, 2021. "The role of non-cognitive skills in farmers' adoption of climate change mitigation measures," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    10. Hannus, Veronika & Sauer, Johannes, 2021. "It is not only about money —– German farmers' preferences regarding voluntary standards for farm sustainability management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    11. Daxini, Amar & Ryan, Mary & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Barnes, Andrew P., 2019. "Understanding farmers’ intentions to follow a nutrient management plan using the theory of planned behaviour," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 428-437.
    12. Caroline Roussy & Aude Ridier & Karim Chaïb, 2014. "Adoption d’innovations par les agriculteurs : rôle des perceptions et des préférences," Post-Print hal-01123427, HAL.
    13. Gómez-Limón, José A. & Gutiérrez-Martín, Carlos & Riesgo, Laura, 2016. "Modeling at farm level: Positive Multi-Attribute Utility Programming," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 17-27.
    14. Oscar Montes de Oca Munguia & Rick Llewellyn, 2020. "The Adopters versus the Technology: Which Matters More when Predicting or Explaining Adoption?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 80-91, March.
    15. Tingting Liu & Randall J. F. Bruins & Matthew T. Heberling, 2018. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adoption of Best Management Practices: A Review and Synthesis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-26, February.
    16. Veronika Hannus & Johannes Sauer, 2021. "Understanding Farmers’ Intention to Use a Sustainability Standard: The Role of Economic Rewards, Knowledge, and Ease of Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Tzemi, Domna & Breen, James P., 2016. "Examining Irish farmers’ awareness of climate change and the factors affecting the adoption of an advisory tool for the reduction of GHG emissions," 90th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2016, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 236331, Agricultural Economics Society.
    18. Meredith T. Niles & Margaret Brown & Robyn Dynes, 2016. "Farmer’s intended and actual adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 277-295, March.
    19. Feola, Giuseppe & Binder, Claudia R., 2010. "Towards an improved understanding of farmers' behaviour: The integrative agent-centred (IAC) framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2323-2333, October.
    20. Fabian Frick & Johannes Sauer, 2021. "Technological Change in Dairy Farming with Increased Price Volatility," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 564-588, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:78:y:2018:i:c:p:562-571. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.