A systematic literature review of barriers to the adoption of environmentally sustainable innovations in cattle farming: A European perspective.

Bezuidenhout, Roland, Trott, Paul and Jin, Shan (2026) A systematic literature review of barriers to the adoption of environmentally sustainable innovations in cattle farming: A European perspective. Journal of Environmental Management, 405 (129767). ISSN 0301-4797

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Abstract

Cattle farming poses a significant risk to environmental sustainability in Europe. It contributes to soil degradation, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable resource consumption and more than two-thirds of agricultural methane emissions in the EU. Innovative technologies and practices provide potential solutions to counter this environmental damage. Despite extensive research on sustainable innovation adoption in agriculture, there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive research uncovering barriers to environmentally sustainable innovation adoption in the cattle farming context. This article reports on a systematic literature review identifying and analysing these barriers, based on a sample of 56 articles. The study uncovered barriers that were deeply rooted in the unique characteristics of both farmers and their farms. We build upon existing theories to explain how cattle farmers’ identity influences their behavioural decisions regarding innovation adoption, analyse how they respond to various barriers and consequently, propose a new conceptual framework. This research contributes to existing literature by providing the most comprehensive and in-depth synthesis of the complex, interrelated barriers to environmentally sustainable innovations in cattle farming to date. It also contributes valuable new knowledge about the barriers that affect cattle farmers' environmentally sustainable innovation decisions, crucial for assisting decision-makers and policy developers to address and overcome these obstacles in the future.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Cattle farming, Innovation adoption, Barriers Sustainability, Farmer identity
Divisions:	Land and Property Management
Depositing User:	Dr Andy Jin
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2026 16:14
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2026 16:14
URI:	https://rau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17093

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