Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province
IntroductionImproving milk productivity is essential for ensuring sustainable food production. However, the increasing difficulty of supervision and management, which is associated with farm size, is one of the major factors causing the inverse relationship between size and productivity. Digital tec...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1083906/full |
| _version_ | 1817967931793866752 |
|---|---|
| author | Yuwen Qi Jiqin Han Nicola M. Shadbolt Qing Zhang Qing Zhang |
| author_facet | Yuwen Qi Jiqin Han Nicola M. Shadbolt Qing Zhang Qing Zhang |
| author_sort | Yuwen Qi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionImproving milk productivity is essential for ensuring sustainable food production. However, the increasing difficulty of supervision and management, which is associated with farm size, is one of the major factors causing the inverse relationship between size and productivity. Digital technology, which has grown in popularity in recent years, can effectively substitute for manual labor and significantly improve farmers' monitoring and management capacities, potentially addressing the inverse relationship.MethodsBased on data from a survey of farms in Shandong Province in 2020, this paper employs a two-stage least squares regression model to estimate the impact of herd size on dairy cow productivity and investigate how the adoption of digital technology has altered the impact of herd size on dairy cow productivity.ResultsAccording to the findings, there is a significant and negative impact of herd size on milk productivity for China's dairy farms. By accurately monitoring and identifying the time of estrus, coupled with timely insemination, digital technology can mitigate the negative impact of herd size on milk productivity per cow.DiscussionTo increase dairy cow productivity in China, the government should promote both small-scale dairy farming and focus on enhancing management capacities of farm operators, as well as large-scale dairy farms and increase the adoption of digital technologies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:54:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53b856e1522a4f9b91a5c3032a89bdc4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-581X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:54:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-53b856e1522a4f9b91a5c3032a89bdc42022-12-22T02:46:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2022-12-01610.3389/fsufs.2022.10839061083906Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong ProvinceYuwen Qi0Jiqin Han1Nicola M. Shadbolt2Qing Zhang3Qing Zhang4College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Agriculture and Environment, College of Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New ZealandCollege of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Digital Media and Humanities, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha, ChinaIntroductionImproving milk productivity is essential for ensuring sustainable food production. However, the increasing difficulty of supervision and management, which is associated with farm size, is one of the major factors causing the inverse relationship between size and productivity. Digital technology, which has grown in popularity in recent years, can effectively substitute for manual labor and significantly improve farmers' monitoring and management capacities, potentially addressing the inverse relationship.MethodsBased on data from a survey of farms in Shandong Province in 2020, this paper employs a two-stage least squares regression model to estimate the impact of herd size on dairy cow productivity and investigate how the adoption of digital technology has altered the impact of herd size on dairy cow productivity.ResultsAccording to the findings, there is a significant and negative impact of herd size on milk productivity for China's dairy farms. By accurately monitoring and identifying the time of estrus, coupled with timely insemination, digital technology can mitigate the negative impact of herd size on milk productivity per cow.DiscussionTo increase dairy cow productivity in China, the government should promote both small-scale dairy farming and focus on enhancing management capacities of farm operators, as well as large-scale dairy farms and increase the adoption of digital technologies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1083906/fullherd sizemilk productionproductivitydigital technologylarge-scale farmssustainable foods production |
| spellingShingle | Yuwen Qi Jiqin Han Nicola M. Shadbolt Qing Zhang Qing Zhang Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems herd size milk production productivity digital technology large-scale farms sustainable foods production |
| title | Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province |
| title_full | Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province |
| title_fullStr | Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province |
| title_short | Can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds? Evidence from China's Shandong Province |
| title_sort | can the use of digital technology improve the cow milk productivity in large dairy herds evidence from china s shandong province |
| topic | herd size milk production productivity digital technology large-scale farms sustainable foods production |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1083906/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yuwenqi cantheuseofdigitaltechnologyimprovethecowmilkproductivityinlargedairyherdsevidencefromchinasshandongprovince AT jiqinhan cantheuseofdigitaltechnologyimprovethecowmilkproductivityinlargedairyherdsevidencefromchinasshandongprovince AT nicolamshadbolt cantheuseofdigitaltechnologyimprovethecowmilkproductivityinlargedairyherdsevidencefromchinasshandongprovince AT qingzhang cantheuseofdigitaltechnologyimprovethecowmilkproductivityinlargedairyherdsevidencefromchinasshandongprovince AT qingzhang cantheuseofdigitaltechnologyimprovethecowmilkproductivityinlargedairyherdsevidencefromchinasshandongprovince |