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Identification and characterization of location decision factors for relocating dairy farms.

A survey was conducted to determine the importance of various location factors during the site selection process for relocating dairy farms. The objectives were to identify the importance of location decision factors (LDF) and characterize how importance differs among respondents with different demographic characteristics. Information was collected from sampled populations of Grade A milk producers in the top 35 milk-producing states in the United States and from U.S. agribusiness professionals using a mailed questionnaire. Location decision factors (n = 110) were rated on importance using a numerical scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = not important and 10 = critically important. Demographic data were collected from each respondent. Of 906 respondents, 72.4% identified their primary occupation as dairy producer. The five overall most important LDF were 1) availability of fresh water supplies (9.16 +/- 0.05); 2) availability of land for waste management (8.94 +/- 0.05); 3) average mailbox price of milk (8.79 +/- 0.05); 4) quality of fresh water supply (8.41 +/- 0.06); and 5) complexity of laws governing waste management (8.35 +/- 0.06). Factors pertaining to dairy production activities, such as cost of feeds and milk handling, were prevalent among those LDF in the upper quartile of importance. Region and herd size had significant effects on the overall importance of LDF. The relative importance of factors differed between western and eastern regions of the United States. Observed differences in importance of LDF among subclasses of respondents suggest that characteristics of the geographic regions evaluated and dairy production activities at various scales affect perceived importance of certain LDF.