Submitted:
09 June 2025
Posted:
10 June 2025
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Abstract
Keywords:
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Structure and Research Hypotheses
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Materials
3.2. Methods
4. Results
4.1. Benchmarking Regression
4.2. Endogeneity Treatment
4.3. Moderation Effect
4.4. Heterogeneity Analysis
4.5. Robustness Test
5. Discussion
5.1. Significant Impact of Value Perception
5.2. Limited Effect of Environmental Regulations
5.3. Moderating Role of Environmental Regulation
6. Conclusions
6.1. Enhancing Intrinsic Incentives from Value Perception
6.2. Strengthening the Regulatory Role of Policy Tools
6.3. Leveraging Demonstration Farms
Author Contributions
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
| Characteristic | Category | Number of Samples | Percentage (%) |
| Age | Under 40 years | 135 | 32.5 |
| 40-49 years | 132 | 31.8 | |
| 50-59 years | 131 | 31.5 | |
| 60 years and above | 17 | 4.1 | |
| Education level | High school or below | 172 | 41.5 |
| Associate degree or bachelor's degree | 233 | 56.1 | |
| Master's degree or higher | 10 | 2.4 | |
| Years in dairy farming | Up to 10 years | 86 | 20.7 |
| 10-19 years | 217 | 52.3 | |
| Over 20 years | 112 | 27.0 | |
| Concern for environmental issues | 1= Not at all concerned | 13 | 3.1 |
| 2 = Not concerned | 4 | 1.0 | |
| 3 = Neutral | 26 | 6.3 | |
| 4 = Somewhat concerned | 71 | 17.1 | |
| 5 = Very concerned | 301 | 72.5 | |
| Evaluate current rural environmental conditions | 1 = very poor | 4 | 1.0 |
| 2 = poor | 6 | 1.4 | |
| 3 = average | 106 | 25.5 | |
| 4 = good | 173 | 41.7 | |
| 5 = very good | 126 | 30.4 |
| Indicator | Item | Scale | Mean | Standard Deviation |
| Value Perception | ||||
| Social Value Perception | Impact on reducing dairy cow disease occurrences | 1=No impact; 2=Minor impact; 3=Neutral; 4=Impactful; 5=Highly impactful | 3.47 | 0.84 |
| Impact on improving employee satisfaction | 4.31 | 0.93 | ||
| Impact on enhancing the living quality of local residents | 4.08 | 0.99 | ||
| Economic Value Perception | Impact on increasing farm income | 1=No impact; 2=Minor impact; 3=Neutral; 4=Impactful; 5=Highly impactful | 3.87 | 0.88 |
| Impact on improving farm production efficiency | 4.61 | 0.58 | ||
| Impact on increasing operational costs | 4.24 | 0.87 | ||
| Ecological Value Perception | Impact on reducing manure emissions and improving the surrounding environment | 1=No impact; 2=Minor impact; 3=Neutral; 4=Impactful; 5=Highly impactful | 3.41 | 0.83 |
| Impact on improving the surrounding ecological environment | 3.69 | 1.11 | ||
| Impact on reducing pollutant emissions and preventing water and soil contamination | 4.06 | 0.99 | ||
| Technology | EFF | RSS | AS | DFC | WR | DMS | CFA | MTM | BPT | FPT | BMP | MEF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFF | 1 | |||||||||||
| RSS | 0.372 | 1 | ||||||||||
| AS | 0.138 | 0.374 | 1 | |||||||||
| DFC | 0.381 | 0.133** | 0.017* | 1 | ||||||||
| WR | 0.382 | 0.273* | 0.028 | -0.144 | 1 | |||||||
| DMS | -0.033* | 0.284 | 0.033 | 0.194 | 0.163 | 1 | ||||||
| CFA | 0.234 | 0.199 | 0.018 | 0.032** | 0.134 | 0.143* | 1 | |||||
| MTM | 0.145 | 0.464 | 0.004 | 0.175 | 0.174 | 0.174 | 0.003 | 1 | ||||
| BPT | 0.163 | 0.433** | 0.015 | 0.104 | 0.003 | 0.293 | 0.002 | 0.163* | 1 | |||
| FPT | 0.132 | 0.371 | 0.197 | 0.177 | 0.112 | 0.177 | 0.100** | 0.184 | 0.017** | 1 | ||
| BMP | 0.093 | 0.184 | 0.103 | 0.145 | 0.132 | 0.362 | 0.023* | 0.273 | 0.008*** | 0.003 | 1 | |
| MEF | 0.034 | 0.283 | 0.043 | 0.171 | 0.185 | 0.037 | 0.005 | 0.083 | 0.170 | 0.173 | 0.183 | 1 |
| Likelihood ratio test of rho21 = rho31 = rho32 = 0 chi2(4)= 24.621 Prob > chi2 = 0.027 | ||||||||||||

Appendix B
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| Type | Number of samples | Proportion (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production area | North China | 172 | 41.7 |
| Northeast China & Inner Mongolia | 86 | 21.2 | |
| Northwest China | 76 | 18.3 | |
| Southern China | 78 | 18.9 | |
| Scale (heads) | Small (100-1000) | 197 | 47.4 |
| Medium (1001-3000) | 138 | 33.3 | |
| Large (above 3000) | 80 | 19.3 | |
| Types of technologies for MSR utilization | Source reduction | 287 | 69.2 |
| Process control | 275 | 66.3 | |
| End-of-pipe treatment | 309 | 74.5 |
| Variable | Meaning and value assignment | Mean | Standard deviation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explained Variable | ||||
| Adoption Intensity of MSR Utilization Technology | Measured by Cov-AHP | 2.215 | 1.145 | |
| Core Explanatory Variables | ||||
| Perceived value(VP) | Economical | Factor analysis | 0 | 1 |
| Ecological | Factor analysis | 0 | 1 | |
| Social | Factor analysis | 0 | 1 | |
| Environmental Regulation(ER) | Constraint | Number of environmental inspections conducted on farms by authorities each month | 7.163 | 9.183 |
| Motivation | Whether the farms received government subsidies for adopting MSR utilization technologies (0 = no, 1 = yes) |
0.351 | 0.713 | |
| Guidance | Whether the information on MSR utilization technologies came from government promotion (0 = no, 1 = yes) |
0.479 | 0.763 | |
| Control Variables | ||||
| Personal Characteristics | Age | Years old | 44.764 | 9.063 |
| Years of farming | Years | 14.457 | 7.271 | |
| Environmental attitude | Degree of emphasis on environmental protection (1~5 = very little attention ~ very much attention) | 4.549 | 0.899 | |
| Social position | Do you hold a social position other than farm manager (e.g. alliance leaders of dairy industry, technical experts, or local administrators)? (0 = no, 1 = yes) |
0.376 | 0.485 | |
| Farm Characteristics | Farming scale | Heads | 2394.154 | 1654.653 |
| Years established | Years | 12.107 | 7.377 | |
| Plant area | 100 mu | 3.813 | 8.613 | |
| Water cost | 1~5 = very low ~ very high | 3.135 | 0.923 | |
| Farm type | 0 = non-agent farm, 1 = agent farm | 1.677 | 0.468 | |
| Farm location | Distance from the farm to the nearest settlement in kilometers | 16.581 | 6.122 | |
| Social network | Information channels | Whether the relevant information comes from other farms (0 = no, 1 = yes) |
0.485 | 0.754 |
| Dummy variable for production area | 1 = Northeastern & Inner Mongolia (control group) 2 = North China 3 = South China 4 = Northwest China |
2.334 | 1.001 | |
| Variable | Model 1 | Model 23 |
|---|---|---|
| Economic-VP | 6.461***(0.405) | 6.217**(3.172) |
| Ecological-VP | 0.371**(0.189) | 0.409**(0.209) |
| Social-VP | 0.109*(0.066) | 0.117*(0.071) |
| Constraint-ER | 0.712*(0.263) | 0.689*(0.419) |
| Incentive-ER | 12.176***(0.534) | 12.003***(0.257) |
| Guidance-ER | 0.946(0.600) | 0.870 (0.529) |
| Age of farm manager | -2.918(1.800) | -2.278(1.385) |
| Manager's farming years | -0.245**(0.125) | -0.216*(0.131) |
| Environmental attitude | 0.514(0.361) | 0.464(0.332) |
| Manager's social position | 0.052**(0.027) | 0.036**(0.018) |
| Farm scale | -0.966*(0.528) | -0.844**(0.431) |
| Years established of farm | -0.187(0.477) | -0.128(0.428) |
| Water cost | 0.483*(0.293) | 0.446*(0.271) |
| Farm type | 1.056**(0.499) | 1.019**(0.520) |
| Farn location | -0.723(0.429) | -0.704(0.429) |
| Information channels | 0.110**(0.056) | 0.075*(0.046) |
| Provincial dummy variables | YES | YES |
| Constant | -5.469(4.027) | -5.164(3.735) |
| R2 | 0.278 | 0.228 |
| Variables | Model 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Coefficient | Standard Error | |
| Environmental regulation | 0.572* | 0.098 |
| Value perception | 0.539*** | 0.087 |
| Control variables | Yes | |
| Provincial dummy | Yes | |
| R2 | 0.291 | |
| Stage-one regression results | ||
| Environmental regulation instrumental variable | 0.662*** | 0.122 |
| F statistics | 15.23 | |
| Variable | Model 4 | Model 5 | Model 6 | Model 7 | Model 8 | Model 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic-VP | 0.621***(0.241) | 0.145**(0.071) | 0.311***(0.121) | 0.215**(0.104) | 0.220***(0.115) | 0.108**(0.052) |
| Ecological-VP | 0.118*(0.194) | 0.336(0.243) | 0.138*(0.081) | 0.291(0.313) | 0.103*(0.063) | 0.271(0.229) |
| Social-VP | 0.051(0.022) | 0.029(0.072) | 0.093(0.057) | 0.019(0.011) | 0.009(0.015) | 0.011(0.023) |
| Constraint-ER | 0.062**(0.031) | 0.084*(0.051) | ||||
| Incentive-ER | 0.786**(0.305) | 0.684**(0.331) | ||||
| Guidance-ER | 0.946*(0.574) | 0.870*(0.529) | ||||
| Economic-VP *Constraint-ER | -0.934**(0.390) | |||||
| Ecological-VP *Constraint-ER | 0.456(0.265) | |||||
| Social-VP *Constraint-ER | 0.264(0.162) | |||||
| Economic-VP *Incentive-ER | 0.014**(0.005) | |||||
| Ecological-VP *Incentive-ER | 0.467(0.371) | |||||
| Social-VP *Incentive-ER | -0.098(0.256) | |||||
| Economic-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.093(0.101) | |||||
| Ecological-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.054*(0.041) | |||||
| Social-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.009**(0.005) | |||||
| Control variables | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Provincial dummy | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Constant | -0.167***(0.056) | -0.253***(0.098) | -2.238***(0.869) | -0.652**(0.318) | -0.236***(0.082) | -0.289***(0.112) |
| R2 | 0.214 | 0.198 | 0.187 | 0.183 | 0.223 | 0.214 |
| Variable | Model 10 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (100-1000) | Medium (1001-3000) | Large (above 3000) | |
| Economic-VP | 0.083(0.071) | 0.045(0.867) | 0.081**(0.041) |
| Ecological-VP | 0.084*(0.051) | 0.075**(0.038) | 0.087(0.053) |
| Social-VP | 0.083(0.051) | 0.010*(0.006) | 0.081(0.193) |
| Constraint-ER | 0.011***(0.004) | 0.107**(0.043) | 0.029(0.193) |
| Incentive-ER | 0.283(0.301) | 0.188*(0.101) | 0.123***(0.048) |
| Guidance-ER | 0.198(0.124) | 0.143*(0.087) | 0.108**(0.055) |
| Control variable | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Provincial dummy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| R2 | 0.219 | 0.198 | 0.227 |
| Variable | Model 11 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast China & Inner Mongolia | North China | Southern China | Northwest China | |
| Economic-VP | 0.025**(0.012) | 0.022**(0.011) | 0.045**(0.023) | 0.003**(0.001) |
| Ecological-VP | 0.023(0.136) | 0.076*(0.047) | 0.156**(0.076) | 0.204(0.172) |
| Social-VP | 0.003(0.004) | 0.002(0.013) | 0.027*(0.016) | 0.083(0.017) |
| Constraint-ER | -0.028(0.233) | 0.019(0.273) | 0.007(0.003) | 0.021(0.032) |
| Incentive-ER | 0.067**(0.026) | 0.042***(0.016) | 0.237***(0.092) | 0.083**(0.073) |
| Guidance-ER | 0.083**(0.050) | 0.034(0.124) | 0.004**(0.002) | 0.011(0.043) |
| Control variable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Provincial dummy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| R2 | 0.199 | 0.214 | 0.242 | 0.198 |
| Variable | Model 12 | Model 13 | Model 14 | Model 15 | Model 16 | Model 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic-VP | 0.621*** (0.137) |
0.145** (0.124) |
0.311*** (0.115) |
0.215** (0.096) |
0.220*** (0.111) |
0.108** (0.108) |
| Ecological-VP | 0.118* (0.338) |
0.336 (0.243) |
0.138* (0.456) |
0.291 (0.313) |
0.103* (0.388) |
0.271 (0.229) |
| Social-VP | 0.051 (0.022) |
0.029 (0.072) |
0.093 (0.034) |
0.019 (0.009) |
0.009 (0.093) |
0.011 (0.023) |
| Constraint-ER | 0.062** (0.054) |
0.084* (0.056) |
||||
| Incentive-ER | 0.786** (0.376) |
0.684** (0.531) |
||||
| Guidance-ER | 0.946* (0.217) |
0.870* (0.178) |
||||
| Economic-VP *Constraint-ER | -0.934** (0.239) |
|||||
| Ecological-VP *Constraint-ER | 0.456 (0.265) |
|||||
| Social-VP *Constraint-ER | 0.264 (0.162) |
|||||
| Economic-VP *Incentive-ER | 0.014** (0.006) |
|||||
| Ecological-VP *Incentive-ER | 0.467 (0.371) |
|||||
| Social-VP *Incentive-ER | -0.098 (0.256) |
|||||
| Economic-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.093 (0.101) |
|||||
| Ecological-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.054* (0.041) |
|||||
| Social-VP *Guidance-ER | 0.009** (0.001) |
|||||
| Control variables | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Provincial dummy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Constant | -0.167*** (0.223) |
-0.253*** (0.137) |
-2.238*** (0.157) |
-0.652** (0.289) |
-0.236*** (0.734) |
-0.289*** (0.689) |
| R2 | 0.214 | 0.198 | 0.187 | 0.183 | 0.223 | 0.214 |
| 1 | In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) reported that China has approximately 15,000 scale dairy farms, which are defined as farms with an inventory exceeding 100 head of dairy cows [17]. |
| 2 | In 2017, China's Ministry of Agriculture issued the Action Plan for Resource Utilisation of Livestock and Poultry Manure (2017-2020), which puts forward the technical measures of "source reduction, process control and end-of-pipe treatment" [17], of which the source reduction includes the application of environmentally friendly feeds, rainwater-sludge separation, dry manure measures, automatic spraying, sewage recovery and recycling, etc. Process control includes the use of composting and fermentation agents, deodorants and bacterial agents for faecal water treatment; and end-of-pipe management includes the use of measures to fertilise faecal waste, biogas production from faecal waste, earthworm farming from faecal waste, and the production of bedding material from faecal waste. |
| 3 | Model (2) represents the robustness test results, with data re-aggregated by Winsorizing the upper and lower 5% of idiosyncratic values. |
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