Driving factors behind precision livestock farming tools adoption: The case of the pedometer on dairy farms

CONTEXT: The development of new advanced technologies has led to rapid changes livestock production systems. Precision livestock farming (PLF) uses digital devices that gather, process and examine specific physiological, behavioral and production indicators to improve control of individual animals. Regarding dairy farming, despite the wide scientific debate, the digital devices (i.e., pedometers) are not widely used among farmers, and as such, market data are unavailable to study farmer demand for the technology. In literature, the exact causes that favor or discourage the adoption of digital devices have not yet been identified. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the work was to estimate dairy farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for an innovative prototype of pedometer that does not need IT infrastructure to work but can operate autonomously, related to factors not yet investigated, and in particular the “payment method”, “type of data provided” by the device, the “convenience of use” and the “price”. METHODS: We conducted a choice experiment (stated preference method) to determine dairy farmers demand for pedometers and their willingness-to-pay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Farmers are likely to purchase the pedometer under certain conditions and with specific functions: ● through a monthly subscription associated with the technical support service; ● for a trial period and possibly returning it at the end of the period; ● reading data provided by the pedometer through their smartphones; ● having information related to estrus prediction rather than other related to animal welfare. SIGNIFICANCE: The results provide a useful contribution to understand the influencing factors of the underutilization of digital devices by dairy farmers. The issue of digital device adoption has become crucial for increasing the competitiveness of dairy farms especially in the current historical period when issues of sustainability and digitization have become of great importance. New solutions or strategies need to be thought of that enable the use of such devices that are technically easy to use and economically more affordable for farmers.