Department of Land Economy, Research Group, SRUC, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK.
J Environ Manage. 2013 Nov 15;129:9-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.05.026. Epub 2013 Jun 20.
Increasing financial pressures has led farmers to manage cattle outside for the winter months. In temperate areas the environmental risks of outwintering cattle are exacerbated by cooler and wetter weather and identifying how farmers perceive these risks is essential to understanding how potential hazards could be mitigated. A series of workshops were conducted with cattle producers in England and Wales to understand their perceptions of the risks, their decision-making with respect to outwintering and their options for mitigating these risks. A range of risks were identified, but emphasis was placed on environmentally-related risks, such as soil damage, and on social risks, such as public perception of their treatment of the animals. The uncertainties due to the weather were highlighted as the most unmanageable risk. Another significant barrier to mitigating environmental impacts emerged from the lack of options towards choosing appropriate fields in which to conduct outwintering. We argue that the farmer-led nature of outwintering and the development of a wide range of systems is evidence of outwintering being a systems-innovation. We conclude that there is a role for Government intervention through the provision of information which clarifies cross-compliance breaches, but also encourages farmer-led innovation to develop more responsive outwintering systems.
不断增加的经济压力使得农民选择在户外饲养牛群过冬。在温带地区，寒冷潮湿的天气使得牛群户外过冬的环境风险加剧，了解农民如何感知这些风险对于理解如何减轻潜在危害至关重要。我们在英格兰和威尔士与牛群养殖户进行了一系列研讨会，以了解他们对风险的看法、他们在户外过冬方面的决策，以及他们减轻这些风险的选择。确定了一系列风险，但重点放在与环境相关的风险上，例如土壤损害，以及与社会相关的风险，例如公众对他们对待动物的看法。由于天气原因导致的不确定性被认为是最难以管理的风险。另一个减轻环境影响的重大障碍是缺乏选择合适的户外过冬场地的选项。我们认为，户外过冬由农民主导以及广泛的系统发展证明了户外过冬是一种系统创新。我们得出的结论是，政府可以通过提供信息来干预，明确违规行为，但也要鼓励农民主导的创新，以开发更具响应能力的户外过冬系统。
