Social referents for dairy farmers: who dairy farmers consult when making management decisions

Social referents provide information that aid in farmer decision making. Some social referents, such as veterinarians, have been well studied in the context of dairy farms, but others have not and the role of social referents may change across management practices. This study aimed to understand (1) who farm-ers consult when making management decisions across different animal care practices and (2) what char-acteristics of these social referents influence farmer decision making. Secondary thematic analysis was used on two qualitative datasets with dairy farmers from the lower Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. The two datasets included non-naturalistic data (i.e. interviews, participatory discus-sion groups) investigating two dairy farm management practices (calf care and transition period manage-ment). Analysis revealed four themes: (1) who farmers consult when making management decisions across practices and the role of these social referents, (2) personal and professional characteristics, and the diversity of opinions of social referents, (3) actions of social referents, and (4) the strength of the rela-tionship between the social referent and farmer. Similarities were found across practices regarding the personal and professional characteristics of social referents, even though the role of these referents varied across contexts. Farmers valued diverse opinions and actions that social referents could provide, such as the provision of resources, recommendations, and interpretation of farm data. We recommend future research focused on strengthening the relationship between farmers and social referents. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study explores the role of social referents in farmer decision making across different animal care practices by analyzing qualitative data from dairy farmers. Four themes emerged, including who farmers consult for management decisions, characteristics of social referents, their actions, and the strength of the relationship with farmers. The findings suggest the importance of diverse opinions and actions provided by social referents in influencing farmer decisions.