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Abstract
In this paper, an ordered probit model is used to assess the factors that affect the
probability of livestock farmers having plans to adopt manure separation technology
in the future. A survey, based on a postal and computerized questionnaire of
representative dairy and pig farms in the Netherlands was carried out in 2009. The
results show that age of farmer and a variable which accounts for the interaction
between size and location of the farm are important variables explaining the
probability of farmers having plans to adopt manure separation technology.
Furthermore, farmers who agreed that future application norms are the driving force
for considering adoption of manure separation technology were more likely to
consider manure separation as the right strategy for their farm. This outcome implies
that farmers are considering manure separation as a strategy to survive the more
stringent future application norms. Policy implications are that young farmers with
bigger Dutch size unit located in manure regions where there is oversupply of
manure are more likely to adopt manure separation technology in the future.