Environmental Regulation vs. Perceived Value: Key Drivers of Enhancing Technology Adoption Intensity for Manure and Sewage Resource(MSR) Utilization in Chinese Dairy Farms

Facilitating the comprehensive adoption of manure and sewage resources (MSR) technologies to establish a business model centred on reduction, reuse, and low pollution has become an urgent priority for achieving high-quality development in the animal husbandry industry. This study analyzes survey data from 412 large-scale dairy farms across 23 provinces in China. The CovAHP method is used to measure the adoption intensity of technology and analyze its mechanisms and underlying logic. The results indicate that value perception, particularly economic value perception, is the strongest driver of adoption intensity. While the direct effect of environmental regulation is limited, it can significantly amplify the influence of value perception on adoption intensity, especially in large-scale farms. The study further finds that incentive-based regulations, such as government subsidies, significantly promote the improvement of manure resource utilization technologies, whereas constraint-based regulations (e.g., fines) have a greater impact on small-scale farms. Additionally, demonstration farms play a key role in promoting best practices and accelerating technology adoption. The study suggests that policies should integrate value perception with targeted financial subsidies and regulatory measures to improve technology adoption, especially with support for small-scale farms. By leveraging demonstration farms to promote successful experiences, the comprehensive adoption of manure resource utilization technologies across the industry can be further improved.