Farmer adoption of pasture renewal practices: the influence of credible information sources

Abstract

Abstract Effective pasture management in the dairy sector is supported by the pasture renewal practices (PRPs) undertaken by farmers. However, the rate and extent of adoption of PRPs by farmers is influenced by their attitudes toward pasture renewal. The aim of this paper was to help the understanding of drivers and barriers that could be derived from the investigation of farmer attitudes to pasture renewal, and to relate credibility of information sources to their perceptions of pasture renewal. A two-step process was applied to existing survey data of dairy farmers in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of New Zealand. First, a factor analysis clustered the dairy farmers into different groups based on their attitudes to pasture renewal. The results show that satisfaction with previous pasture renewal experiences was an important factor affecting farmer adoption. Second, the results from a correlation analysis between the different clusters, indicates that information from local experts and farmers was valued the most by all groups as they were perceived to be the most credible. Motivated farmers also tended to seek guidance from credible publications and websites. Keywords: pasture renewal, dairy farmers, information credibility, factor analysis