CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 0Agriculture and Rural Development ResearchAgriculture and Farm SafetySustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis

Not your average dairy farmer: Clustering dairy farmers of Western Canada and Ontario based on management practices and well-being

Open access
Tambadou, H., Le Heiget, A., Zwick, B., Dallago, G., Hagen, B., Winder, C., Plaizier, J.C., Kinley, J. +4 more·2026·Journal of Dairy Science
DOI 10.3168/jds.2025-27820
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

A wide array of operational and management practices characterizes the dairy farming landscape in Canada. This heterogeneity poses challenges in understanding the full range of dairy farming systems, which can lead to incomplete representations and less effective interventions aimed at improving the well-being of dairy farmers. This study aimed to holistically explore the relationship between dairy farmers' well-being and farm management practices. A multiple factorial analysis was used to group dairy farmers based on various factors, including demographic characteristics, mental and physical health outcomes, farming responsibilities, work-life balance, social environment and support, animal housing and management, and concerns about various dairy-related stressors. The analysis identified 4 distinct clusters of farmers defined by 66 significant variables. Key factors influencing the differences among the surveyed dairy producers included age, concern about finances, drought, public perceptions of the dairy industry, policies and regulations, farm responsibilities, satisfaction with professional relationships (such as those with veterinarians and feed representatives), and mental health outcomes. Despite the variations among the clusters, a common theme emerged: most participants selected finding more time for enjoyable activities and reducing their workload as ways to improve their well-being. The findings suggest that the nature of dairy farming and its associated responsibilities may often hinder farmers from achieving a healthy work-life balance. Furthermore, this study highlights the distinct challenges faced by various groups of dairy farmers. The typologies established in this research offer a promising foundation for providing tailored resources and support.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3168/jds.2025-27820

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Still being checked.

Related

Authors
Tambadou, H., Le Heiget, A., Zwick, B., Dallago, G., Hagen, B., Winder, C., Plaizier, J. C., Kinley, J., Ominski, K., Pajor, E., Watson, H., & King, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Manitoba (CA)
  • University of Calgary (CA)
Corresponding author
King, M.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Dairy Science
Publisher
American Dairy Science Association
Published
2026-07
Volume
109
Issue
7
Pages
7056-7069
ISSN
0022-0302 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3168/jds.2025-27820
OpenAlex
W7128918759
Cited by
0
References
38
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Dairy Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Mspace (University of Manitoba) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Alberta Milk
  • Dairy Farmers of Manitoba
  • Dairy Farmers of Ontario
  • Mitacs
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Agriculture and Rural Development Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Agriculture and Farm Safety
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis
Keywords
dairy farmers, farmer well-being, farm management practices, farmer typology, work-life balance, mental health, physical health, financial stress, drought, animal housing, social support, workload, Western Canada, Ontario
MeSH terms
Farmers, Psychological Well-Being, Adult, Animals, Canada, Cattle, Dairying, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Ontario, Surveys and Questionnaires, Cluster Analysis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review