Abstract

Industrial dairy farms, also referred to as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOS) or factory farms, are often known for the negative effects they have on the environment and animals. However, these farms are the backbone of our food systems supplying 99% of our dairy and meat in the United States. In this qualitative case study, we conduct in-depth interviews and farm transect walks with five industrial dairy farmers in Western Michigan to examine how they view and define sustainability, how they incorporate sustainable practices on their farms, and what they perceive as the barriers to industrial dairy sustainability. To analyze the data, we conducted a multi-stage thematic analysis grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our preliminary results show that dairy farmers view sustainability through the lens of economic stability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility, and all five farms have voluntarily incorporated sustainable practices into their operations. However, they experience significant barriers in scaling and broadening these efforts including the negative perception of environmentalism from peer farmers, poor public perception of industrial dairy farms, conflicting regulations, a lack of inclusion in regulatory decision-making processes, and a lack of financial resources to move to wider adoption of sustainable practices and technologies.