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Robotic milking technologies and renegotiating situated ethical relationships on UK dairy farms

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  • Lewis Holloway
  • Christopher Bear
  • Katy Wilkinson

Abstract

Robotic or automatic milking systems (AMS) are novel technologies that take over the labor of dairy farming and reduce the need for human–animal interactions. Because robotic milking involves the replacement of ‘conventional’ twice-a-day milking managed by people with a system that supposedly allows cows the freedom to be milked automatically whenever they choose, some claim robotic milking has health and welfare benefits for cows, increases productivity, and has lifestyle advantages for dairy farmers. This paper examines how established ethical relations on dairy farms are unsettled by the intervention of a radically different technology such as AMS. The renegotiation of ethical relationships is thus an important dimension of how the actors involved are re-assembled around a new technology. The paper draws on in-depth research on UK dairy farms comparing those using conventional milking technologies with those using AMS. We explore the situated ethical relations that are negotiated in practice, focusing on the contingent and complex nature of human–animal–technology interactions. We show that ethical relations are situated and emergent, and that as the identities, roles, and subjectivities of humans and animals are unsettled through the intervention of a new technology, the ethical relations also shift. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis Holloway & Christopher Bear & Katy Wilkinson, 2014. "Robotic milking technologies and renegotiating situated ethical relationships on UK dairy farms," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 185-199, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:31:y:2014:i:2:p:185-199
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-013-9473-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lewis Holloway & Carol Morris & Ben Gilna & David Gibbs, 2011. "Choosing and rejecting cattle and sheep: changing discourses and practices of (de)selection in pedigree livestock breeding," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(4), pages 533-547, December.
    2. Michael Stahlman & Laura McCann, 2012. "Technology characteristics, choice architecture, and farmer knowledge: the case of phytase," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 371-379, September.
    3. Nick Bingham, 2006. "Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria: Biotechnology and the Politics of Nonhuman Friendship," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(3), pages 483-498, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Merisa S. Thompson, 2023. "Alternative visions of “ethical” dairying: changing entanglements with calves, cows and care," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 693-707, June.
    2. Clemens Driessen & Leonie Heutinck, 2015. "Cows desiring to be milked? Milking robots and the co-evolution of ethics and technology on Dutch dairy farms," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 3-20, March.
    3. Rebecca Schewe & Diana Stuart, 2015. "Diversity in agricultural technology adoption: How are automatic milking systems used and to what end?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 199-213, June.
    4. McGrath, Karen & Brown, Claire & Regan, Áine & Russell, Tomás, 2023. "Investigating narratives and trends in digital agriculture: A scoping study of social and behavioural science studies," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    5. Ingram, Julie & Maye, Damian & Bailye, Clive & Barnes, Andrew & Bear, Christopher & Bell, Matthew & Cutress, David & Davies, Lynfa & de Boon, Auvikki & Dinnie, Liz & Gairdner, Julian & Hafferty, Caitl, 2022. "What are the priority research questions for digital agriculture?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Claire Brown & Áine Regan & Simone van der Burg, 2023. "Farming futures: Perspectives of Irish agricultural stakeholders on data sharing and data governance," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 565-580, June.
    7. Mohit Malik & Vijay Kumar Gahlawat & Rahul S Mor & Amin Hosseinian-Far, 2024. "Towards white revolution 2.0: challenges and opportunities for the industry 4.0 technologies in Indian dairy industry," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 811-832, September.
    8. Richard Helliwell & Carol Morris & Sujatha Raman, 2019. "Can resistant infections be perceptible in UK dairy farming?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Johanna Pfeiffer & Andreas Gabriel & Markus Gandorfer, 2021. "Understanding the public attitudinal acceptance of digital farming technologies: a nationwide survey in Germany," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 107-128, February.
    10. Goller, Michael & Caruso, Carina & Harteis, Christian, 2021. "Digitalisation in agriculture: Knowledge and learning requirements of German dairy farmers," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 8(2), pages 208-223.

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