Short communication: Socio-psychological factors influencing dairy farmers' intention to adopt high-grain feeding in Brazil.

This study aimed to apply the theory of planned behavior to determine the effects of attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms on the intention of dairy farmers toward high-grain feeding. Quantitative data were collected through interviews with 150 dairy farmers in Paraná, Brazil. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. We observed that farmers with a positive perception of grain feeding (attitude) and a positive perception of their ability to increase the use of grains (perceived behavioral control) had higher intention to increase grain feeding. Social pressure (subjective norm) had no effect on the intention to grain feed. These results can contribute to the development of public strategies and policies that encourage the use of high-grain diets in dairy farms.

Farmers' actions toward sustainability: a typology of dairy farms according to sustainability indicators.

Milk production is an important economic and social activity in Brazil. Failure to meet institutional and market demands for quality and sustainability has led farmers, particularly small-scale farmers, to leave agriculture. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the sustainability of dairy farms in Paraná, Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 75 dairy farm operators. Sustainability indicators were generated on the basis of economic, environmental and social data using exploratory factor analysis. Factor scores were subjected to hierarchical clustering, which resulted in the formation of three groups of dairy farms. Groups 1, 2 and 3 had high, intermediate and low levels of sustainability, respectively. Group 1 comprised large-scale dairy farms with high productivity. Dairy farms with intermediate sustainability (group 2) had medium production capacity, and farms with low sustainability (group 1) had the smallest production scale and capacity. Large-scale dairy farms have greater economic, environmental and social sustainability and are, therefore, more likely to survive in the medium and long term.