Dissertation Survey: Adoption of Environmentally Sustainable Practices within the Dairy Industry

[jnh6]

Hello all!

I am a student in my final year studying for a BSc (Hons) in Geography at the University of St Andrews and as such I am currently undertaking research to complete my dissertation. For this I am looking at what dairy farmers' perceive to be the barriers for adopting environmentally sustainable practices and what would motivate them to adopt more of these practices. Along with this I am also wanting to gain an understanding of the current levels of engagement with environmentally sustainable practices.

I strongly believe that environmental sustainability is not only crucial to the future of the environment but also the future of the dairy industry. With all the negative press surrounding agriculture, including the dairy industry, I believe it is important to understand what motivates and prevents farmers from engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.

There are a few questions but I have tried to make it quick to fill in so that it doesn't waste your time! The survey should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Also all completed surveys have the opportunity to be entered into a prize draw to win a £20 Amazon gift voucher (email addresses will be stored separately from the answers to the survey).

All answers will be completely anonymous and no personal information will be collected. Also if you feel uncomfortable answering any of the questions then please feel free to skip that question.

Many thanks in advance! Please share the link with any dairy farmers that you might know!

The survey will close at 11.59pm on the 9th March.

https://standrews.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2mEQhmODPwJUMbH

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[deleted user 837354]

You assume dairy farmers are not already conducting 'environmentally sustainable practices'? Can you elaborate on what exactly those might be, in your opinion?

 

[Princess Pooper]

Hello all!

I am a student in my final year studying for a BSc (Hons) in Geography at the University of St Andrews and as such I am currently undertaking research to complete my dissertation. For this I am looking at what dairy farmers' perceive to be the barriers for adopting environmentally sustainable practices and what would motivate them to adopt more of these practices. Along with this I am also wanting to gain an understanding of the current levels of engagement with environmentally sustainable practices.

I strongly believe that environmental sustainability is not only crucial to the future of the environment but also the future of the dairy industry. With all the negative press surrounding agriculture, including the dairy industry, I believe it is important to understand what motivates and prevents farmers from engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.

There are a few questions but I have tried to make it quick to fill in so that it doesn't waste your time! The survey should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Also all completed surveys have the opportunity to be entered into a prize draw to win a £20 Amazon gift voucher (email addresses will be stored separately from the answers to the survey).

All answers will be completely anonymous and no personal information will be collected. Also if you feel uncomfortable answering any of the questions then please feel free to skip that question.

Many thanks in advance! Please share the link with any dairy farmers that you might know!

The survey will close at 11.59pm on the 9th March.

https://standrews.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2mEQhmODPwJUMbH

Thanks,
Jenny

I filled most of this in, eagerly awaiting a definition or some solid examples of environmentally sustainable practices. But it doesn't give any. So as it's a bit hard to say if you're already engaging with something, or likely to increase engagement, or describe barriers, unless you know exactly what it is that the survey is about. So I gave up.
Sorry!

PS I think I'm already doing quite a lot.
But then I might not be.
Depends what you mean, really!

 

[jnh6]

You assume dairy farmers are not already conducting 'environmentally sustainable practices'? Can you elaborate on what exactly those might be, in your opinion?

Hi!

Sorry if it came across as if I think dairy farmers do not actually participate in environmentally sustainable practices! I actually think that in general dairy farmers do actually conduct a lot of these practices on their farms already.

As for what I mean for my research I was considering environmentally sustainable practices to be any practices that seek to minimise environmental damage and/or use resources and energy more efficiently. I am specifically looking at practices that relate to the following:
- reducing greenhouse gases e.g. use of renewable energy sources, conducting an all-fuel energy assessment, selecting regionally produced forage
- protecting/increasing biodiversity e.g. planting natural vegetation, riparian zones
- reducing waste e.g. recycling/reusing materials
- reducing water usage/preventing water pollution e.g. fencing off waterways, recycling used water, preventing runoff
- improving/protecting soil/soil nutrients e.g. completing a nutrient management plan, testing the pH of the soil

I hope that explains better what I mean by environmentally sustainable practices! If you also have any other opinions on what environmentally sustainable practices are I would love to hear them.

 

[jnh6]

I filled most of this in, eagerly awaiting a definition or some solid examples of environmentally sustainable practices. But it doesn't give any. So as it's a bit hard to say if you're already engaging with something, or likely to increase engagement, or describe barriers, unless you know exactly what it is that the survey is about. So I gave up.
Sorry!

PS I think I'm already doing quite a lot.
But then I might not be.
Depends what you mean, really!

Hello!

Thank you for the feedback. I have since added a definition of what I mean by environmentally sustainable practices plus have added a couple examples to one of the questions. I hope this makes it clearer although if it is still unclear I would be keen to know!

Thanks again for the feedback!