Role of cooperatives as an information source of dairy cattle farmers

This study investigated the role of dairy cooperatives as an information source in solving problems at dairy cattle production in the district of Osmaniye, Turkey. Local animal husbandry activities were investigated by collecting data using a questionnaire with owners of 112 dairy farms. The results showed that 31.3% of farmers were members of dairy cooperatives. Only 8.7% of farmers used cooperatives as a main source when they need information about solving their problems and getting information about new technologies. Most respondents (94.6%) evaluated the timeliness of advisory services provided by cooperative as poor. Almost 90 (89.3%) of farmers wanted better access to improved dairy technologies through cooperatives. The most significant problems in adopting innovations related to dairy cattle production were lack of access to relevant knowledge and financial problems in applying these innovations. It was also found that the farmers preferred veterinarians and other farmers as sources of knowledge and that the role of the cooperatives as knowledge sources was quite low. © Medwell Journals, 2012