Adoption of greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture: An analysis of dairy farmers' perceptions and adoption behaviour

- Best-Worst-Scaling is used to identify promising climate change mitigation practices.
- Preference data needs to be combined with information on current adoption patterns.
- The suggested practices in the dairy sector do not match current policy support.
- Best-Worst-Scaling is a useful tool especially in early stages of the policy planning process.

The agenda towards greenhouse gas mitigation within agriculture implies changes in farm management practices. Based on a survey of Scottish dairy farmers, this study investigates farmers' perceptions of how different GHG mitigation practices affect the economic and environmental performance of their farms, and the degree to which those farmers have adopted those practices. The results of the farm survey data are used to identify promising mitigation practices for immediate policy support based on their potential for additional adoption by farmers, their perceived contribution to the farm's financial and environmental performance and information on their cost-effectiveness. The study demonstrates the usefulness of including adoption behaviour and farmers' perception of mitigation practices to inform early stages of policy development. This would ultimately contribute to the robustness and effectiveness of climate change mitigation policies in the agricultural sector.