Determinantes subjetivos y objetivos del rechazo al cooperativismo en la ganadería extensiva

Despite the ecosystem services it provides, extensive livestock farming is in decline in Europe. One cause of this decline is the lack of collaboration among farmers, who reject the cooperative model. Many authors emphasise the importance of subjective factors, such as perceptions and collaborative proactivity, in determining the propensity to participate in cooperatives. This research project aims to understand extensive livestock farmers' perceptions of cooperatives, and to study the influence of objective and subjective factors on their participation. We hypothesise that subjective factors significantly influence extensive livestock farmers' decisions to join cooperatives. A survey to 70 extensive livestock farmers found that they had a dual perception. While the majority identify the cooperative spirit with democracy and recognise its social benefits, the majority do not belong to any livestock cooperative. An FS-QCA analysis confirmed the multifactorial nature of the decision. The results suggest that considering both factors improves predictability. Non-membership was associated with configurations lacking key membership elements: extensive experience, larger livestock, economic orientation and prioritising member benefits. These results imply that the barrier lies in the discrepancy between cooperative theory and practice. Reversing the decline of extensive livestock farming requires a transformation of the model to align with the expectations and values of contemporary livestock farmers.