Increasing the adoption intensity of sustainable agricultural practices in Europe: Farm and practice level insights.

Understanding what influences the adoption of multiple sustainable farming practices, a concept we call adoption intensity, is critical to the sustainable development of our food system. Drawing on a survey of European farmers, and using structural equation modelling, we found dispositional influences important for adoption intensity at the farm-level but not as important for adoption intensity across all aspects of farm management. Productivity objectives were negatively associated with adoption intensity, but value chain support was positively associated, indicating the important role of the supply chain at the farm level. Participation in agri-environment schemes was not associated with farm-level adoption intensity but did have a positive association with adoption intensity in three farm management categories. These results have important implications for sustainable agricultural policy development and highlight the need to consider different incentives based on the scale of the change to be achieved.

Food Waste in Primary Production: Milk Loss With Mitigation Potentials.

Sources and quantities of milk loss in primary production are presented in this paper through an analysis of results from a 2018 survey. Responses from 43 dairy farms in Scotland showed that milk losses occurred due to withdrawal periods for veterinary treatment, parlor infrastructure, and lapses in management routine. A partial life cycle assessment detailed flows of milk from cow to farm gate and captured farm inputs such as imported feeds and fertilizers. Incidence of animal health events such as mastitis, that routinely lead to milk withdrawal were quantified alongside strategies carried out by farmers to reduce milk loss. Treatment for mastitis accounted for 76% of all milk withdrawal days and the remaining 24% stemmed from therapies for health events such as uterine disorders and lameness. Withdrawal periods for mastitis treatments averaged 4.5 days, with a mean incidence of 20% of cows in a herd. Across all farms, an average of 98.2% of total milk produced was sold, 0.66% was purposely retained, 0.55% was rejected due to antibiotic residues, 0.5% was lost from parlor to bulk tank infrastructure and a further 0.09% was rejected by the processor. Carbon footprints found greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions averaged 0.849 kg CO2e/kg across farms for the milking herd. A scenario of 20% fewer withdrawal days reduced GHG's on average by 0.6%. Additional mitigation was attained by reductions in milk loss from parlor infrastructure and the bulk tank, and this showed a 1% reduction in GHG emissions could be achieved through higher volumes of milk sales. Categorizing responses by management system type highlighted differences in proportional losses between all year round housed and conventional grazing regimes. The most predominant health disorder leading to milk withdrawal was mastitis, however losses due to other health events and parlor infrastructure were not insignificant on Scottish dairy farms.

The effect of date labels on willingness to consume dairy products: Implications for food waste reduction.

In the context of national and cross-national efforts to reduce the quantity of food wasted by consumers, there is growing interest in the role of date labelling. Recent proposals by policy makers and the food industry to address dairy product waste have included streamlining date-label application and encouraging the use of best-before dates where possible. In order for these measures to have a positive impact on food waste, consumers must not only know the difference between date types, but also be prepared to act on this information and consume products after the best-before date. Through a survey of 548 Scottish consumers we investigated the relationship between product type, date type, reduced labels and willingness to consume (WTC) dairy products in relation to the both the best-before date and the use-by date. We also examined the factors associated with different levels of WTC products in relation to the best-before date including knowledge, risk perceptions and trust. Our results suggest that on their own, the effect on food waste of applying best-before dates to dairy is likely to be small. In order for such changes to be effective, consumer communication that goes beyond improving expiry-date knowledge and addresses the multifaceted nature of related risk perceptions and conceptions of date-label trust will be required.