Entrepreneurship of Dutch dairy farmers

Keywords: Dairy farming, farm size, Theory of Planned Behaviour, goals, attitudes, entrepreneur entrepreneurship, competencies, psychological characteristics, agriculture, entrepreneur, dairy farms, entrepreneurial success, job satisfaction, training programme.Several developments in theNetherlandsas well as in the other countries within the EU are forcing dairy farmers to reconsider their involvement in dairy production. Farmers are being called to account more for the entrepreneurial element of their farming behaviour. Up till now it was unclear how dairy farmers score on entrepreneurial characteristics and whether their entrepreneurial competencies can be improved. Therefore, this study had a two-fold aim: (1) to gain insight into the entrepreneurship of dairy farmers and into what makes a dairy farmer a successful entrepreneur; and (2) to investigate the possibilities for improving the entrepreneurial competencies of dairy farmers by means ofa trainingprogramme. Two groups of farmers were selected for a case-control analysis. Participants were members of study groups and all living in the north of theNetherlands. Members of the Project group (n= 75) participated in the project meetings related to entrepreneurship, whereas the members of the Control group (n=180). At the start and end of the project, data collected by means of a questionnaire, were analysed. Investigated were farmers' goals, objectives, and attitudes in relation with farmers' strategic and entrepreneurial behaviour; the importance of psychological characteristics and competencies as predictors of self-reported entrepreneurial success of Dutch dairy farmers; the items of the strategic process that influence the job satisfaction of dairy farmers; and, the effect of a training programmes aimed at improving entrepreneurial competencies.The goals, objectives, and attitudes are determinants of strategic and entrepreneurial behaviour of dairy farmers. Farm size is mainly explained by farmers' instrumental goals, such as striving for a large and modern farm. Dairy farmers who had higher scores on self-reported entrepreneurial success also had higher scores on entrepreneurial competencies. Entrepreneurial competencies have a positive relation to the farm size. The dairy farmers are generally satisfied with their job. Especially the non-economic goals of the farmer, like pleasure in work, are important for explaining differences in job satisfaction. It is possible to improve the entrepreneurial competencies of dairy farmers through developing and discussing the farmers' strategic plans in study groups. In general, all participants benefited from the programme, irrespective of farmers' and farm characteristics or the level of competencies at the start of the programme. Using the concept of competencies provides a means of evaluating an intervention programme designed to develop a strategic plan for and by entrepreneurs, and is an effective way to identify a possible effect of an intervention.