Abstract
Increasing financial pressures has led farmers to manage cattle outside for the winter months. In
temperate areas the environmental risks of outwintering cattle are exacerbated by cooler and wetter
weather and identifying how farmers perceive these risks is essential to understanding how potential
hazards could be mitigated. A series of workshops were conducted with cattle producers in England and
Wales to understand their perceptions of the risks, their decision-making with respect to outwintering
and their options for mitigating these risks.
A range of risks were identified, but emphasis was placed on environmentally-related risks, such as
soil damage, and on social risks, such as public perception of their treatment of the animals. The uncertainties
due to the weather were highlighted as the most unmanageable risk. Another significant
barrier to mitigating environmental impacts emerged from the lack of options towards choosing
appropriate fields in which to conduct outwintering.
We argue that the farmer-led nature of outwintering and the development of a wide range of systems
is evidence of outwintering being a systems-innovation.We conclude that there is a role for Government
intervention through the provision of information which clarifies cross-compliance breaches, but also
encourages farmer-led innovation to develop more responsive outwintering systems.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 9 - 17 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Environmental Management |
Volume | 129 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Print publication - Nov 2013 |
Bibliographical note
1023376Keywords
- Farmer decision-making
- Mitigation methods
- Outwintering
- Risk perception