Exploring dairy farmers’ quality of life perceptions – A Swiss case study

Contzen, Sandra; Häberli, Isabel

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.11.007

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…However, other studies have shown that there are considerable concerns in the dairy sector surrounding recruitment and retention of labour [ 65 ]. The intense seasonal workload associated with pasture-based farming [ 18 , 38 ] can lead to increased levels of stress [ 66 ], mental health problems [ 67 ] and difficulties in sustaining an adequate quality of life [ 68 ]. Our study found that 63.3% of survey respondents were over the age of 45 and 66.1% of respondents had sustained a career in dairy for over 20 years, with 19.2% of these having farmed for over 40 years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of farm, parlour and milking management, parlour technologies, SCC control strategies and farmer demographics on Irish dairy farms

Uí Chearbhaill,

Boloña,

Ryan

et al. 2024

Ir Vet J

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Background This cross-sectional study describes a survey designed to fill knowledge gaps regarding farm management practices, parlour management practices and implemented technologies, milking management practices, somatic cell count (SCC) control strategies, farmer demographics and attitudes around SCC management on a sample of Irish dairy farms. Results We categorized 376 complete responses by herd size quartile and calving pattern. The average respondent herd was 131 cows with most (82.2%) operating a seasonal calving system. The median monthly bulk tank somatic cell count for seasonal calving systems was 137,000 cells/ml (range 20,000 – 1,269,000 cells/ml), 170,000 cells/ml for split-calving systems (range 46,000 – 644,000 cells/ml) and 186,000 cells/ml for ‘other’ herds (range 20,000 – 664,000 cells/ml). The most common parlour types were swing-over herringbones (59.1%) and herringbones with recording jars (22.2%). The average number of units across herringbone parlours was 15, 49 in rotary parlours and two boxes on automatic milking system (AMS) farms. The most common parlour technologies were in-parlour feeding systems (84.5%), automatic washers on the bulk tank (72.8%), automatic cluster removers (57.9%), and entrance or exit gates controlled from the parlour pit (52.2%). Veterinary professionals, farming colleagues and processor milk quality advisors were the most commonly utilised sources of advice for SCC management (by 76.9%, 50.0% and 39.2% of respondents respectively). Conclusions In this study, we successfully utilised a national survey to quantify farm management practices, parlour management practices and technology adoption levels, milking management practices, SCC control strategies and farmer demographics on 376 dairy farms in the Republic of Ireland. Rotary and AMS parlours had the most parlour technologies of any parlour type. Technology add-ons were generally less prevalent on farms with smaller herds. Despite finding areas for improvement with regard to frequency of liner changes, glove-wearing practices and engagement with bacteriology of milk samples, we also found evidence of high levels of documentation of mastitis treatments and high use of post-milking teat disinfection. We discovered that Irish dairy farmers are relatively content in their careers but face pressures regarding changes to the legislation around prudent antimicrobial use in their herds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of farm, parlour and milking management, parlour technologies, SCC control strategies and farmer demographics on Irish dairy farms

Uí Chearbhaill,

Boloña,

Ryan

et al. 2024

Ir Vet J

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“…In doing so, they potentially reduce the crowding‐out effect, leading to overall quality deterioration. Avoiding the crowding‐out effect is a way to stimulate the well‐being and income generation to small‐scale family farmers (Contzen & Häberli, 2021; Hansen et al, 2020). As our approach elucidates, there are two major types of translation involved in the case of assuring milk safety in Brazil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do private translation mechanisms encourage food safety in dairy production? Evidence from the Brazilian Conseleites

et al. 2022

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This study investigates how and why the translation role of private meso‐institutions can help in the implementation of food safety norms in Brazilian dairy supply chains. Relying on a unique dataset containing producer‐level data, we combine a difference‐in‐differences approach with matching to investigate the experience of the Brazilian Conseleites. Our results indicate that milk quality levels tend to be higher in the states where Conseleites operate, suggesting a reduction in the cost of obtaining and disseminating information, and potentially, of transaction costs in a more general way.

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“…The improved well-being and satisfaction of farmers and workers through QoL considerations translate into increased productivity, enhanced job satisfaction, and better work-life balance, which, in turn, leads to the sustainability of the agricultural sector, stability, and growth within the farming industry [22]. Innovators and future research endeavors can also capture the holistic nature of farmers' well-being and provide valuable insights for enhancing their overall QoL through incorporating the aspect of quality of life, particularly eudaimonic well-being [23]. In effect, the integration of QoL considerations ensures the long-term sustainability of agricultural practices and the entire agricultural supply chain, benefitting all stakeholders, including farmers, workers, and the hinterland community, both in the present and future generations.…”

Section: Overview Of Quality Of Life and Its Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversified Impacts of Enabling a Technology-Intensified Agricultural Supply Chain on the Quality of Life in Hinterland Communities

Lubag,

Bonifacio,

Tan

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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The agricultural supply chain (ASC) in the hinterland refers to the entire post-harvest process of processing and distributing agricultural products in rural or secluded areas to be brought to big city markets. This scheme involves various stakeholders (farmers, trading centers, consumers), processes (logistics, storage, monitoring), and infrastructure (traffic and road systems, negative environmental emissions) to ensure the efficient flow of agricultural products from farms to consumers. The quality of life (QoL) in the hinterland can improve with the introduction of disruptive technologies, but no comprehensive studies have explored the QoL of individuals involved in the ASC–socioeconomic system of hinterland communities. This study elucidated and compared the diversified impacts of disruptive technologies brought by the Industrial Revolution 4.0 to the agricultural supply chain and their impacts on food security, sustainability, and climate change mitigation through the analysis of the related literature. This study also mapped out the role of disruptive technologies in the QoL of hinterland communities, particularly with respect to the farmers, trading center workers, and consumers. Points of discussion emerged with respect to precision agriculture, the Artificially Intelligent Internet of Things, big data analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems, robotics, automation, and e-commerce, and how these enabling technologies enhance fresh food supply and distribution and deliberately affect stakeholders’ life quality indexes through the analysis of situational case studies in India, South America, Malaysia, China, and Europe. The identification of these points of discussion was also achieved purely based on research performed on the related literature. The positive impacts of these technologies, such as the boosting of efficiency and the ensuring of a steady supply of fresh produce, ultimately improve the overall QoL. The technical insights from the studies were synthesized to develop new frameworks for QoL anchored in the agricultural supply chain (AgQoL) in the hinterland, and a six-dimensional network emphasizing the two trifectas of techno-socioenvironmental needs was established. Food-producing communities with a relatively high AgQoL should support food security in the region.

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Exploring dairy farmers’ quality of life perceptions – A Swiss case study

Cited by 22 publications

References 37 publications

Survey of farm, parlour and milking management, parlour technologies, SCC control strategies and farmer demographics on Irish dairy farms

Survey of farm, parlour and milking management, parlour technologies, SCC control strategies and farmer demographics on Irish dairy farms

Do private translation mechanisms encourage food safety in dairy production? Evidence from the Brazilian Conseleites

Diversified Impacts of Enabling a Technology-Intensified Agricultural Supply Chain on the Quality of Life in Hinterland Communities

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