Can technology help achieve sustainable intensification? Evidence from milk recording on Irish dairy farms

peer-reviewedThis article explores the potential of a farm technology to simultaneously improve farm efficiency and provide wider environmental and social benefits. Identifying these ‘win-win-win’ strategies and encouraging their widespread adoption is critical to achieve sustainable intensification. Using a nationally representative sample of 296 Irish dairy farms from 2015, propensity score matching is applied to measure the impact of milk recording on a broad set of farm sustainability indicators. The findings reveal that the technology enhances economic sustainability by increasing dairy gross margin and milk yield per cow. Furthermore, social sustainability is improved through a reduction in milk bulk tank somatic cell count (an indicator of animal health and welfare status). Conversely, milk recording (as it is currently implemented) does not impact farm environmental sustainability, represented by greenhouse gas emission efficiency. While the study shows that milk recording is a ‘win-win’ strategy, ways of improving current levels of utilisation are discussed so that milk recording achieves its ‘win-win-win’ potential in the future.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Schem

Adoption and abandonment of organic farming: an empirical investigation of the irish drystock sector

There is a considerable literature about the adoption of organic farming. However, possible abandonment of organic farming has received scant attention. Thus, relatively little is known about the exit decisions of farmers. In addition, most studies are based on a static framework where it is not possible to account for changes in farmer decisions over time. This article attempts to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the determinants that affect both adoption and abandonment of organic drystock farming over time. The use of duration analysis allows for the consideration of cross-sectional and time-varying factors over the study period from 1981 to 2008. Using this dynamic econometric framework revealed a significant time effect on entry and exit decisions. Overall, the results highlight that where no attempt is made to account for exit decisions and time effects, important information about sustainable farmer decisions may not be taken into consideration

Comparing attitudes and characteristics of organic, former organic and conventional farmers: evidence from ireland

Despite an overall growth rate of the organic farming sector in the European Union, a considerable number of farmers cease organic production each year. Given the commitment of many European governments to increase the size of their organic farming sectors, reducing the rate of withdrawals from organic production may be an easier option than attracting new farmers into organic farming. In order to reduce the rate of withdrawals, knowledge about those farmers is required. However, to date, little is known about farmers who adopt and subsequently abandon organic farming. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting the farm and personal characteristics of organic, former organic and conventional farmers. To this end, primary data from 596 Irish cattle and sheep farmers are utilized. Overall, the findings reveal significant differences between the three groups. More specifically, organic farmers are found to be the most environmentally aware farmers, who also rate information gathering as more important than the remaining two groups. Organic farmers are younger, better educated and more likely to be women than conventional farmers. Former organic farmers stand out to be the least risk averse group and also express lower environmental awareness than organic farmers. Conventional farmers are found to be the most profit oriented and least environmentally aware group. In addition, this group farms more intensely stocked enterprises than the remaining groups. The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy recommendations aimed at increasing the size of the organic sector

Animal Welfare, Altruism and Policy Support

Animal welfare provision by dairy farmers has implications that go well beyond the individual dairy farm. In this study, we assess dairy farmers' willingness to pay to support a policy aimed at improving calf welfare and link this to altruism. We conceptualise the farmer's decision into private reasons, and motivations to improve animal welfare on their own farm or eliminate bad practices elsewhere. Our data comes from a survey with over 400 Irish dairy farmers that included an experimental component. Specifically, we used a contingent valuation referendum method to elicit farmers' willingness to pay. We measured altruism with a financially incentivised social value orientation scale. Our findings indicate that most farmers are supportive of a policy scheme to improve animal welfare, and altruism is positively associated with higher willingness to pay. Specifically, our findings suggest that altruists are willing to pay €429 per annum, while individualistically minded farmers are willing to pay €220 per annum to support the new initiative. Our findings have important policy implications as we show that the majority of farmers are willing to financially support the implementation of a policy that can help to prevent public bads

Adoption of organic farming: Are there differences between early and late adoption?

Based on the fact that not all farmers adopt a technology at the same time, it is argued in this paper that the distinction between groups is important because early, medium and late adopters respond differently to economic and non-economic factors when they consider whether to take up organic farming or not. The individual effects on adoption between the groups are identified by the use of multinomial logit analysis. The results provide evidence that there are significant differences in the characteristics between the adopter groups. The findings also reveal that the factors that affect adoption play a different role for early, medium and late adopters, particularly with regard to farming intensity, age, information gathering as well as attitudes of the farmer. More specifically, early adopters were the youngest to adopt organic farming and their decisions were found to be less profit related compared to other groups. Late adoption is constrained by risk considerations, while environmental attitudes and social learning were identified to be important determinants for all adopter groups. Overall, the findings strongly suggest, that for policy measures to be effective, the current state of diffusion has to be taken into account.Organic farming Early and late adoption Multinomial logit analysis Farmer attitudes

The role of extension in dynamic economic adjustments: the case of Irish dairy farms

European Union dairy policy eliminated milk production quotas in 2015, inducing major adjustments in the European dairy industry. This article explores the role of farm extension services in dynamic adjustments on Irish dairy farms. An Arellano–Bond estimation strategy is applied to panel data from a representative sample of Irish dairy farms spanning 2008–2014. We find a positive, yet declining, impact of extension services on the dynamics of dairy herd size, specialisation and intensification. Farm-level response changes in relation to length of extension membership and policy implications to re-structure extension services are discussed.The authors acknowledge the receipt of a fellowship from the OECD Co-operative Research Programme: Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in 2015.peer-reviewed2021-01-1

The role of extension in dynamic economic adjustments: the case of Irish dairy farms

European Union dairy policy eliminated milk production quotas in 2015, inducing major adjustments in the European dairy industry. This article explores the role of farm extension services in dynamic adjustments on Irish dairy farms. An Arellano–Bond estimation strategy is applied to panel data from a representative sample of Irish dairy farms spanning 2008–2014. We find a positive, yet declining, impact of extension services on the dynamics of dairy herd size, specialisation and intensification. Farm-level response changes in relation to length of extension membership and policy implications to re-structure extension services are discussed.The authors acknowledge the receipt of a fellowship from the OECD Co-operative Research Programme: Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in 2015.2021-01-1

The role of extension in dynamic economic adjustments: the case of Irish dairy farms

European Union dairy policy eliminated milk production quotas in 2015, inducing major adjustments in the European dairy industry. This article explores the role of farm extension services in dynamic adjustments on Irish dairy farms. An Arellano–Bond estimation strategy is applied to panel data from a representative sample of Irish dairy farms spanning 2008–2014. We find a positive, yet declining, impact of extension services on the dynamics of dairy herd size, specialisation and intensification. Farm-level response changes in relation to length of extension membership and policy implications to re-structure extension services are discussed.The authors acknowledge the receipt of a fellowship from the OECD Co-operative Research Programme: Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in 2015.peer-reviewed2021-01-1

The role of hired labour on technical efficiency in an expanding dairy sector: The case of Ireland

The 2015 EU milk quota abolition initiated considerable expansion in the dairy sector. This expansion has increased the demand for additional labour in some EU countries, most significantly in Ireland. This paper explores the role of hired labour on Irish dairy farms' technical efficiency (TE). We use a detailed farm-level panel data set of a representative sample from 2000 to 2018. To estimate transient, persistent, and overall TE over time, we apply a 4-component stochastic frontier model. Our findings show significant variation in TE scores over the period. We also control for endogeneity to obtain marginal effects of hired labour on TE. The results reveal that hired labour has a significant yet small, positive effect on farms' TE. Our findings suggest that the effect of hired labour on TE is larger for small and medium-sized farms. This effect is larger when herd size increases

Comparing attitudes and characteristics of organic, former organic and conventional farmers: Evidence from Ireland

Despite an overall growth rate of the organic farming sector in the European Union, a considerable number of farmers cease organic production each year. Given the commitment of many European governments to increase the size of their organic farming sectors, reducing the rate of withdrawals from organic production may be an easier option than attracting new farmers into organic farming. In order to reduce the rate of withdrawals, knowledge about those farmers is required. However, to date, little is known about farmers who adopt and subsequently abandon organic farming. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting the farm and personal characteristics of organic, former organic and conventional farmers. To this end, primary data from 596 Irish cattle and sheep farmers are utilized. Overall, the findings reveal significant differences between the three groups. More specifically, organic farmers are found to be the most environmentally aware farmers, who also rate information gathering as more important than the remaining two groups. Organic farmers are younger, better educated and more likely to be women than conventional farmers. Former organic farmers stand out to be the least risk averse group and also express lower environmental awareness than organic farmers. Conventional farmers are found to be the most profit oriented and least environmentally aware group. In addition, this group farms more intensely stocked enterprises than the remaining groups. The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy recommendations aimed at increasing the size of the organic sector