German Pig Farmers’ Attitudes towards Animal Welfare Programs and their Willingness to Participate in these Programs: An Empirical Study

Hardenberg, Louisa von; Heise, Heinke

doi:10.18461/ijfsd.v9i3.937

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Second, the partly high standard deviations in the overall sample indicate an inconsistent response behavior. It can therefore be assumed that, with regard to the adoption behavior of AFR among German farmers, there are distinguishable subgroups, analogous to the results of other studies that have investigated, for example, the attitude and investment behavior of farmers [61][62][63][64]. One possible classification of such groups was introduced by [16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

Veltheim

Heise

2021

Agriculture

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Agricultural production methods in Europe are increasingly subject to public criticism from which many farmers suffer. This applies, among other areas, to the widespread use of pesticides. Autonomous field robots (AFR), as the next stage of agricultural automation, have the potential to farm more intensively and, at the same time, in a more environmentally friendly way. However, a certain skepticism towards autonomous systems is suspected among farmers. Whether farmers adopt a technology depends largely on their uncertainty about the consequences of its use and the resulting attitude on the adoption. In order to quantify the attitude on adopting AFR in Germany and to identify possible group differences within the population, 490 German farmers were surveyed using an online questionnaire, which is based on an extended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). In the subsequent cluster analysis, the statements inquiring the intention to use AFR served as cluster-forming variables. As a result, three groups (“openminded AFR supporters”, “convinced AFR adopters”, “reserved AFR interested”) could be identified according to their response behavior. Despite existing group differences, an overall attitude in favor of autonomous field robots was observed. The results complement the existing research with a further empirical study and provide interesting starting points for further analysis, field robot manufacturers, and political decision makers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

Veltheim

Heise

2021

Agriculture

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“…This assumption also applies to farm managers in general who cannot be described as a homogeneous group regarding their innovation acceptance behaviour. Farmers differ in the speed of accepting and using an innovation, while one group of farmers is quicker to adopt new practices or technologies, another group of farmers acts more hesitantly [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. This is also in accordance with Roger's diffusion of innovations theory, which segments customers into five categories, namely, innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards, according to their innovation adoption behaviour [46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Previous studies (e.g. [41,[43][44][45]52]) on the adoption of innovations by farm managers have characterised innovators or rejectors in several decision situations. Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory is often employed in research which aims at categorising decision makers into different groups (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards) depending on how quickly they adopt an innovation [37,46].…”

Section: Factors Explaining Biogas Plant Operator's Acceptance Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Categorisation of Biogas Plant Operators in Germany with Regards to Their Intention to Use Straw Pellets as Innovative and Sustainable Substrate Alternative

Mohrmann

Otter

2022

Energies

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The cultivation of renewable raw materials on arable land is challenged by the ongoing fuel-versus-food debate resulting from increases in maize cultivation, shorter crop rotations and land competition. Accordingly, the current legal framework for biogas production in Germany focuses on limiting cultivation of traditional biogas substrates, such as silage maize, and promoting the use of various alternatives, such as waste materials and by-products. One new sustainable substrate alternative is the use of cereal straw compacted to pellets. Although straw pellets generally have good fermentation properties, they are still rarely used in German biogas production. Since earlier research on agricultural production practices in general has shown that farmers can be divided into groups regarding their acceptance behaviour and the speed to successfully adopt innovative practices and technologies on their farm, this study addresses the research question: How can biogas plant operators in Germany be categorised with regards to their intention to use straw pellets as innovative and sustainable substrate alternatives? In order to answer this question an exploratory factor analysis and subsequent hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted with survey data obtained from German biogas plant operators (n = 309) in early 2021. Based on variables indicating the intention to use and use behaviour regarding straw pellets in biogas plants, four clusters are identified. Plant operator’s innovativeness, perceived risk and the influence of social environment show differences between the clusters. Additionally, the characteristics of the innovation “straw pellets”, such as economic performance and sustainability, were assessed differently by the four clusters of German biogas plant operators. While the clusters do not show significant differences in the socio-demographic characteristics, they do so in the farm characteristics (farm activities besides biogas production, size of the plant, the proportion of slurry/dung and silage maize). According to the results two of the four clusters have a higher acceptance of straw pellets, which also means that they are earlier in considering the actual use. The initiation of regional working groups, information campaigns and financial incentives can support plant operators, especially in the two clusters of potential early adopters, in accepting straw pellets. This should ultimately result in a faster and wider use of straw pellets as substrates in the whole biogas sector.

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“…Animal benefits are defined as the degree of expectation that a person believes that the use of a system, in this case the IAW, is beneficial and provides support and relative benefits to the animals. Many farmers see the improvement of housing conditions as benefit of AWPs [21,[41][42][43]. The individual clusters differ significantly in their attitudes towards animal benefits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, some studies have been investigating the attitudes of German pig farmers towards higher farm animal welfare standards and their willingness to participate in AWPs [20], but not with main focus on the IAW. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that farmers cannot usually be seen as a homogeneous group in terms of their attitudes [21], so it must be assumed that this is also true with regard to farmers' attitudes towards the IAW. For this reason and to close this research gap, a cluster analysis was chosen for this article in order to find potential target groups for IAW participation and to characterize them more precisely so that target group-specific recommendations for action can be derived.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Welfare Programs in Germany—An Empirical Study on the Attitudes of Pig Farmers

2020

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In Europe, there is ongoing social criticism of conventional pig farming and demands for higher farm animal welfare standards. This applies primarily to products from pig production, as consumers criticize, among other things, the animals’ housing conditions, tail docking, neutering, or keeping them on slatted floors. Various animal welfare programs have tried to meet the consumers’ demands. Pig farmers are directly involved in the production process and are therefore key stakeholders for the successful implementation of animal welfare programs such as the German Initiative Animal Welfare. The Initiative Animal Welfare was founded in 2015 and serves as an example in this study, as it has been established for two rounds and involves high numbers of participants. However, little is known about the attitudes of pig farmers towards this specific animal welfare program. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate these attitudes towards animal welfare programs using the example of German pig producers and identify group differences. Based on an online survey of German conventional pig farmers, four clusters were formed which differ in their attitude to the Initiative Animal Welfare. Overall, all farmers, regardless of the cluster, feel publicly pressured by politics and the media. In addition, all farmers are skeptical about the effort involved in participating in the Initiative Animal Welfare (IAW), especially with regard to the additional documentation requirements and unannounced controls. The findings can provide guidance for the design of animal welfare programs taking into account the needs of farmers.

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German Pig Farmers’ Attitudes towards Animal Welfare Programs and their Willingness to Participate in these Programs: An Empirical Study

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

Categorisation of Biogas Plant Operators in Germany with Regards to Their Intention to Use Straw Pellets as Innovative and Sustainable Substrate Alternative

Animal Welfare Programs in Germany—An Empirical Study on the Attitudes of Pig Farmers

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