Effects of risk preferences, family labor and family succession on the adoption of sustainable manure management technologies in dairy farming

The intensification of livestock production systems driven by growing demand for animal products has resulted in significant environmental challenges. Manure mismanagement in intensive systems can lead to greenhouse gas emissions and potential contamination of water and soil, thus contributing to biodiversity loss and climate change. We study manure management adoption in dairy farms in Buenos Aires, Argentina where livestock production is strongly linked to cultural traditions and faces multiple barriers to sustainable change, such as strong taxation and high levels of uncertainty. Specifically, we examine how two key behavioral and social mechanisms shape adoption outcomes: farmers’ risk preferences, and the interplay between farm succession and family labor availability. To our knowledge, these factors have not been previously explored and are especially relevant to the local context. We run an ordinal logistic regression based on farm-level data. Farmers’ risk preferences are elicited using a lottery-based experiment, while succession is proxied by the farmer’s perception of his/her children continuing dairy farm activities. We complement our analysis using semi-structured interviews with key informants to add qualitative insights into the motivations and constraints for adoption. We find that farmers more willing to take risks are more likely to adopt manure management practices, but this effect becomes weaker with farmers that simultaneously present loss-aversion. Family dynamics also play a key role. Surprisingly, farmers who expect a child to take over the farm, but do not currently have family labor on the farm, are less likely to adopt. Yet, when both succession and active family labor are in place, the likelihood of adoption increases significantly. We find that in-farm sustainable investments are more prone when the succession is expected and the family is actively engaged in farm labor.