The beef cattle sector is adapting to increasing demand-side requirements. Customers are looking for a differentiated product of constant quality in a market that is beginning to be dominated by major distribution companies. In this background, mechanisms to differentiate production are being implemented to co-ordinate both production and marketing processes and integrate livestock farmers into the commercial system. Extensive cattle systems carry an important weight in Spain because of their social and environmental values. However, their structure and level of profitability are obstacles to their adaptation to new market trends. This situation calls for instruments that are able to bring the farmer into this adaptation process and to add value to and differentiate products. These instruments can be promoted by institutions or by the private sector through quality labels based on the product’s geographical origin. This paper aims to characterise the process of adaptation of Spanish extensive cattle systems through three case studies representing three kinds of extensive farming system located in the country’s northern, central and southern mountain ranges. A logit model based on a survey of farmers was developed to identify which variables have a greater influence on the decision to participate in quality labels based on geographical origin. The study concludes that the three mechanisms, which are based on a brand linked to their geographical origin, present important differences. Some factors as the institutional or regional context explains these differences and determine the degree of acceptance of each one of these mechanisms between the livestock farmers.