Knowledge Capabilities, Communication and Innovation in Beef Cattle Farm Enterprises

A capabilities perspective of farm level innovation in the beef cattle industry ispresented using information economics. The knowledge capabilities of non-corporatebeef cattle enterprises have two interrelated components: the knowledge generatedfrom the activities that takes place during production; and the information channelsthat producers possess to source external information. Although both are important foranalysing innovation, the external information sources relating to producers’knowledge are emphasised here. Emphasis on the path-dependent nature ofknowledge focuses the discussion of innovation on the communication of informationand how this affects the organisation of knowledge. The effects of differingknowledge capabilities are central to understanding the variation in innovativeprocesses.Preliminary results from focus groups and in-depth interviews of both producers andtheir nominated information sources in the New England area of New South Wales inmid-2009 provide evidence for the efficacy of information channels. Case studies ofinnovations exemplify how differing attributes of innovations combine with networkstructures and institutional factors to influence the processes of communicationbetween producers and their information sources. Communication of high qualityinformation is shown to be more involved than simple exposure and must beconsidered from the point of view of the user, allowing it to be reconciled withexisting knowledge of the producer. Of importance to producers is the source,delivery and history of the information and these are reflected in the approach taken inthis research. The outcomes suggest that producers should be making decisions on thebasis of their self organised knowledge capital rather than following innovationsfashionable in the industry at large. The role of policy makers is to complement thisby providing favourable conditions for knowledge capital formation where highquality information flows are likely outcomes. Policy makers could look at improvingthe ability of producers to integrate new technologies and practices into theirproduction indirectly rather than looking to directly persuade them to adopt individualinnovations.