Precision dairy farming is the application of information technologies to dairy cattle farm management and allows to increase both the performances and the profit of the farm production processes pursuing objectives of low-input, high-efficiency and sustainability. Recent studies clearly showed that the critical point of adoption rate of precision farming technology in dairy farms is represented by farmer education level. This paper describes the role of farmer education, and its constraints, on driving the efficacy of precision farming techniques adopted by a certain dairy farm. The paper also describes a possible application to a specific dairy cattle production area in Italy. The proposed conceptual model showed as farmer education enables and stimulates the efficacy of precision farming technologies. The conceptual map consisted of 6 causal-loop named: Precision farming; Reports; Break even; Efficiency target; Farmer background; Education demand. Further developments should include the stock and flow diagram of the reviewed relationships and the model calibration using local information on farmer capabilities.
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