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IntroductionConcerns about health and food security related to the food production chain and environmental degradation have increased the demand for sustainable agricultural development and a reduction in the harmful effects of conventional agriculture. Consumers are increasingly inclined to choose healthy food due to the environmental and health risks posed by products contaminated with chemical inputs.MethodsThis study aims to identify the determinants of healthy and sustainable agricultural production based on Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) and Farm Structure (FS) models, combined with a socio-psychological and environmentally-oriented approach. The study also seeks to propose recommendations for extension services to promote such production among summer crop farmers in Iran. Data were collected from 260 farmers using a survey and stratified random sampling method. The data were analyzed with SPSS26 and AMOS24.Results and discussionThe analysis of the research model demonstrated that the greatest influence on healthy and sustainable agricultural production is attributed to the emphasis on the importance of marketing. Environmental identity and attitudes toward healthy and sustainable agricultural production are of secondary importance. Access to extension services indirectly affects healthy and sustainable agricultural production through environmentally responsible behavior. Information access directly influences healthy and sustainable agricultural production. Furthermore, information beneficiaries also indirectly affect healthy and sustainable agricultural production by enhancing farmers’ knowledge and attitudes toward producing such products. Specific production and marketing relations should be established for these products. Additionally, various organizations should focus on extending, training, and informing farmers about healthy and sustainable agricultural production, while also creating the necessary infrastructure to make this a public demand among both consumers and producers.

Robots are heralded as part of a new revolution in agriculture. The agricultural robot’s capacity to reduce working time or improve working conditions is often advanced as a major contribution to sustainable agriculture. But the transformations of work appear to be more complex. Here we review the transformations of work subsequent to adoption of agricultural robots on the farm. We carry out a systematic review of literature using a multidisciplinary analytical framework of transformations of work. We consider four dimensions of work: 1) farm structure and the labor market; 2) work organization; 3) meaning of work; and 4) technical-economic performances. Given that the deployment of robots in agriculture is still in its early stages, most of the studies concern the automated milking system (AMS). The transformations of agricultural work represent an emerging topic dominated by a technical and economic vision of work. The major points are as follows: Concerning farm structures, we find no evidence of a relationship between robotization and a certain farm size. Concerning the labor market, there is a risk of skill- and wage-related segmentation and exclusion. The AMS is an example of an in-depth re-organization of work with a decrease in the physical workload but which is concomitant with a new mental workload of monitoring alarms. Concerning the meaning of work with AMS, the changes in the animal-human relationship lead to the possibility of new identities and new self-perceptions by farmers and workers. There is no evidence to support a reduction in working time when an AMS is installed. Finally, a synthesis of the results allows us to propose a research agenda that can better orient future research to understand the diversity of transformations of work resulting from the adoption of robots in agriculture.

Technological innovations are changing mechanisation in agriculture. The most recent wave of innovations referred to as smart farming technologies (SFT), promise to improve farming by responding to economic, ecological, and social challenges and thereby sustainably develop agriculture throughout Europe. To better understand the relevance of ongoing technological progress for farming systems across Europe, 287 farmers were surveyed in 7 EU countries and in 4 cropping systems, alongside 22 in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts from the agricultural knowledge and innovation system. Of the surveyed farmers, about 50% were SFT adopters and 50% were non-adopters. The number of adopters increased with farm size, and there were more adopters among arable cropping systems than in tree crops. Although all farmers broadly perceive SFT as useful to farming and generally expect SFT to continue to be so, when it comes to specific on-farm challenges, farmers are less convinced of SFT potential. Moreover, farmers’ perceptions of SFT vary according to SFT characteristics and farming context. Interestingly, both adopter and non-adopter groups are hesitant regarding SFT adoption, such that adopters are somewhat disillusioned about the SFT that they have experience with, and non-adopters because they are not convinced that the appropriate technologies are available and accessible. About 60% of all farmers surveyed have a number of suggestions for SFT to become more relevant to a broader range of farms. Both farmers and experts generally consider peer-to-peer communication as important sources of information and deplore a lack of impartial advice. Experts are generally more convinced of SFT advantages, and are positive regarding the long-term trends of technological development. The findings support previous findings on using farmers’ perceptions in innovation processes, and provide insight to the recent trends regarding SFT application to diverse cropping systems across Europe. This suggests that differences related to agricultural structures and farming systems across Europe have to be considered if SFT development and dissemination should be improved.

With the deep integration of the digital economy and agricultural development, agricultural digital transformation promotes agricultural production, and industrial upgrading and broadens sales channels to achieve the strategic goal of rural revitalization in China. To explore whether agricultural digitization can help farmers increase their income and what path can be achieved, this study is based on the theoretical framework of rural revitalization theory and digitization. Through a questionnaire survey of 1500 farmers in Hubei Province, the impact mechanism of agricultural digitization transformation on farmers’ income is empirically studied. The empirical results show that the digital transformation of agriculture can promote the increase in farmers’ income, and promote the increase in farmers’ income by improving production efficiency, broadening sales channels, and promoting the upgrading of agricultural structure. At the same time, both production efficiency and sales channels form a chain double intermediary path with the upgrading of agricultural structure. Under the background of rural revitalization, this study provides theoretical references and guidance for further promoting agricultural digital transformation to increase farmers’ income. The marginal contribution of this study is to construct a theoretical model of agricultural digitization to promote farmers’ income increase, which has important theoretical reference and guiding significance for guiding the development direction of agricultural digitization and promoting farmers’ income increase.

The increasing demand for renewable energy is projected to result in a 40-fold increase in offshore wind electricity in the European Union by 2030. Despite a great number of local impact studies for selected marine populations, the regional ecosystem impacts of offshore wind farm (OWF) structures are not yet well assessed nor understood. Our study investigates whether the accumulation of epifauna, dominated by the filter feeder Mytilus edulis (blue mussel), on turbine structures affects pelagic primary productivity and ecosystem functioning in the southern North Sea. We estimate the anthropogenically increased potential distribution based on the current projections of turbine locations and reported patterns of M. edulis settlement. This distribution is integrated through the Modular Coupling System for Shelves and Coasts to state-of-the-art hydrodynamic and ecosystem models. Our simulations reveal non-negligible potential changes in regional annual primary productivity of up to 8% within the OWF area, and induced maximal increases of the same magnitude in daily productivity also far from the wind farms. Our setup and modular coupling are effective tools for system scale studies of other environmental changes arising from large-scale offshore wind farming such as ocean physics and distributions of pelagic top predators.

Sustainable and efficient energy use in agriculture helps tackle climate change by reducing fossil energy use. We evaluated German farming systems by analysing energy input and output. Data from 30 organic and 30 conventional farms (12 arable, 18 dairy farms each) between 2009 and 2011 was used. Energy input, output, and the influence of farm type, farm structure, and management intensity on energy-use efficiency (EUE) were analysed for crop production using the farm management system REPRO. Conventional farms (CF) always had higher energy input. The energy input for organic farms (OF) was 7.2 GJ ha −1 and for CF 14.0 GJ ha −1 . The energy output of CF was also higher. Reductions were higher in energy input than in energy output. In 73.3% of the farm pairs, OF were more energy efficient than CF. The EUE was comparable with CF on 10% of OF and for 16.7% of CF the EUE was higher suggesting better fossil energy utilization. EUE can be increased when reducing fossil energy inputs through more efficient machinery, reduction of agrochemicals, precision farming, the use of renewable energy or energy retention, and by increasing yields. A reduction of inputs is urgently required to lower the (political) dependence on fossil energy.

One of the key strengths of Hungarian agriculture lies in its extensive farmland resources, which cover nearly 60 percent of the country’s territory. A central policy question concerns whether access to agricultural land should be regulated through strict legal constraints or through more market-oriented, liberal mechanisms. Hungary has consistently chosen the former approach. Although the legal framework explicitly aims to support small and medium-sized family farms, it has not slowed the ongoing concentration of land or the structural transformation of the sector. Over time, this regulatory system has required numerous amendments as loopholes emerged or overly complex provisions proved impracticable. This study examines how land-use regulation has influenced the structural evolution of Hungarian agriculture, with particular attention to the ways in which legal frameworks shape access to land, patterns of use, and the distribution of farm sizes.

This study analyses the economic efficiency and size structure of agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic, focusing on differences between organic and conventional farming systems during the 2016-2022 period. Key objectives include evaluating farm size distribution, profitability, and efficiency under varying conditions. Results reveal that organic farms are generally smaller and more reliant on subsidies, achieving lower production per hectare compared to conventional farms. However, their profit becomes comparable when subsidies are included. Conversely, conventional farms demonstrate greater efficiency, particularly among larger enterprises. These insights are pivotal for shaping agricultural policy with respect to production efficiency and food self-sufficiency.

Unequal access to land, driven by decades of consolidation and concentration, is of increasing concern around the globe. This article analyzes growing farm consolidation and land concentration in the province of Saskatchewan, considered Canada’s agricultural powerhouse. Drawing on Land Titles data and Census of Agriculture statistics, we document trends associated with a changing farm structure such as increasingly large land holdings, growing ownership concentration, and the emergence of a class of mega-farms. The largest farms, many of which have roots in family enterprise, are becoming increasingly complex in their organizational form and in their relationships to farmland, rented and owned. Our qualitative analysis allows us to provide an ‘on the ground’ view of these trends, including the multiple social and environmental changes wrought by on-going consolidation. We argue that these trends are contributing to a homogenization, flattening, and emptying out of Saskatchewan rural landscapes. Furthermore, we document increasing competitive pressures and land market dynamics that will likely continue to exacerbate land inequality and impede the entry of new farmers. Our research underlines the importance of new, more sophisticated ways of conceptualizing the family farm and its evolution from ‘farm to firm’.

The agriculture sector continues to face expectations regarding documenting its unintended environmental footprints through time given increasing awareness of the need to deliver food more sustainably. Accordingly, the work reported in this paper used a process-based modelling framework evaluated previously to examine the temporal evolution (2010, 2016, 2021) of the environmental footprints of intensive farming systems across England. The results were computed at Water Management Catchment scale given the use of this spatial unit for policy reporting purposes. Environmental footprints focused on Global Warming Potentials over 20- (GWP20) and 100-year (GWP100) horizons, eutrophication potential (EP) and acidification potential (AP). Both GWP20 and GWP100 were included to characterise the short- and long- term impacts. Important structural changes in agriculture included a 3.7% increase in the area of land under ‘general cropping’ and a 2% reduction in that under dairy. There was a corresponding reduction of the registered cattle populations by 4% in 2016 and 12% in 2021, relative to 2010. At the same time, the number of sheep and lambs increased by 9% in 2016 and 4% in 2021. These farm structure changes in 2021 were computed to result in respective median reductions in GWP100, EP and AP of 18%, 13% and 21% compared with 2010. Eutrophication potential exhibited lower overall reductions wherein 28 water management catchments exhibited <5% reductions, with a maximum reduction of ~45%. In comparison, corresponding maximum reductions in GWP20, GWP100 and AP were modelled at 76%, 64% and 54%, respectively, with 17, 15 and 7 water management catchments exhibiting <5% reductions. Modelling suggests a downward change in environmental footprints but there are challenges in directly linking predicted temporal trends with existing and available monitored data.