Cultural embeddedness and heterogeneity in farmer responses to agricultural transition in the Irish beef suckler sector

Efforts to reduce emissions from livestock systems are often framed as technical or economic challenges, yet farmers’ responses to transition policies are shaped by social, cultural, and intergenerational dynamics. Using survey data from 85 Irish beef-suckler farms, this study examines agricultural transition as a social-ecological process structured by cultural embeddedness, perceived economic pressure, and environmental concern. The study combines quantitative and qualitative analyses, including farmer typology clustering, to examine willingness to consider alternative farming practices and transition pathways. While many respondents expressed openness toward diversification and lower-emission practices, substantial heterogeneity existed across the sample. Cultural embeddedness (ρ = −0.14) and inheritance status (ρ = −0.16) exhibited weak negative associations with willingness to change, while perceived economic pressure showed a weak positive relationship (ρ = 0.12), indicating that no single factor exerted a dominant influence on behavioural openness. Cluster analysis identified distinct farmer archetypes, including groups characterised by strong cultural attachment alongside both high and low willingness to transition. The findings indicate that perceptions of agricultural transition are shaped not only by economic viability concerns, but also by identity, intergenerational continuity, and attachment to farming as a way of life. These results suggest that transition policies based solely on economic incentives or emissions reduction targets are unlikely to achieve socially durable outcomes unless they also engage with the cultural and social dimensions embedded within farming systems. The findings have broader relevance for livestock-dependent rural regions internationally where climate mitigation policies intersect with culturally embedded agricultural livelihoods.