Factors Influencing Adoption of Good Dairy farm Practices by the Dairy Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Good dairy farm practices recommended by the scientists improve the productivity of dairy animals and therefore an attempt is made to understand the level of adoption of these practices and the factors influencing their adoptability. Majority of the farmers (63.3%) had medium level of adoption while 7.1% had high adoption rate with regards to improved animal husbandry practices. Adoption of improved breeding practices was highest (55.65%) followed by improved feeding practices (33.8%). Lowest adoption rates were observed for clean milk production practices. The overall lower adoption of animal husbandry practices at 34.45 percent emphasizes the need of creating awareness among the farmers about the benefits of adoption of good dairy farm practices. Among various socio - economic factors taken into consideration education, landholding size, social participation of the farmers, extension programs, mass media exposure, economic motivation, exposure to training programs and risk orientation of the farmers have shown positive correlation with the adoption behavior of the farmers.