Motivations and limitations to improve dairy heifer replacement programs in the west of Buenos Aires province, Argentina

Abstract

Dairy heifer replacement programs (RPs) are crucial for herd health and productivity. Understanding the factors that motivate or limit their implementation could go a long way toward promoting these programs more effectively. This study aimed to quantify the relative importance of such factors among dairy farmers and advisors in the west of Buenos Aires (Argentina). For this, a choice experiment was designed using conjoint analysis (CA). The factors included therein were chosen based on the literature and expert discussions. The participants (48 farmers and 41 advisors) were asked to rank nine motivating and nine limiting profiles, i.e. combinations of factors and their corresponding levels, from 1 (most motivating/limiting) to 9 (least motivating/limiting). The part-worth utility value and relative importance of each factor and level was then estimated through ordinary least squares regression. The results showed that motivating and limiting factors had the same relative importance for farmers and advisors when deciding to adopt/recommend improved RPs. The part-worth utilities for different levels were not significantly different from each other in the advisors' rankings (p-values >0.05), but they were significantly different (p-value <0.05) for the farmers within the factors “Expectations”, “External support” and “Investments needed”. The highest part-worth utility was assigned to having a feasible program to implement. The lowest values corresponded to having access to public and/or private support and having to invest in regular professional advice. These findings are further evidence that the factors driving or hindering the enhancement of dairy farm management are manifold and often farm-specific.