The agricultural industry in New Zealand, especially intensified dairy farming, faces pressures from environmental regulations and market dynamics, prompting a shift toward more sustainable practices like horticultural land use. Existing literature on land use change has primarily focused on geographical factors, leaving a gap in understanding farm‐level influences on farmers’ land use decisions. This study addresses this gap by analysing farm‐level land use change patterns in New Zealand and identifying how farmer and farm characteristics, values, and demographics influence these decisions, using machine learning methods to enhance analytical capability. Our results indicate that younger farmers and those in horticulture/crop and sheep and beef industries are more likely to engage in land use changes, driven by environmental values and risk attitudes. The findings provide insights into drivers of rural landscape transformation among different farming sectors, emphasising the need for tailored policy and support mechanisms to manage land use transitions effectively.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.