Perception of the Sustainable Cattle Ranching Concept Among Producers, Extension Specialists, and Chief Officers in Oaxaca, Mexico

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

 

The paper aboard an original situation of a specific geographical area and its importance is relevant according the economic situation of Mexico. This paper can be a good material for students getting good and quality information that help to understand the effect of a good technique driving the good manner of manage resources. I only suggest to improve the presentations of results.

Author Response

General comment: The paper aboard an original situation of a specific geographical area and its importance is relevant according the economic situation of Mexico. This paper can be a good material for students getting good and quality information that help to understand the effect of a good technique driving the good manner of manage resources.  Comments 1: I only suggest to improve the presentations of results.

Response 1: We agree with your suggestion. Therefore, we have improved the presentation of the results by creating and highlighting in Figure 2 the ideas or interpretations that some producers expressed about their concept of sustainable livestock farming. Table 3 was also created to concentrate the perception of extension workers and officials. In addition, the wording of the entire results and discussion section was substantially improved (Pages 7 – 14; lines 266 – 502).

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this study, the authors explored the perception of the sustainable cattle ranching concept among producers, extension agents, and officials. The sampling method is appropriate, and the results are reliable. The interview outcomes align well with the identities of the sample population and the developmental stage of Mexico's cattle industry. Furthermore, the interpretation and discussion are well-grounded. The results not only reflect the situation of the cattle industry in Mexico but may also be applicable to the livestock industry in other developing countries. The findings indicate that the conceptualization of sustainable ranching differs across various groups, and more government policies are needed to ensure that true sustainable farming can be achieved.

In my opinion, the article can be accepted for publication in its current form.

Besides, I am intrigued by a question: In the section discussing the perception of sustainable cattle ranching, was there any mention of whether young people are unwilling to engage in cattle ranching or other livestock-related work? Based on the age of the three groups studied, it is clear that producers are generally older, while the agents and officials tend to be younger. In China, it is difficult to recruit young people for frontline livestock farming jobs. Workers on farms are often retirees from other industries, who are semi-retired and may lack the responsibility and ambition of younger individuals. This could impact the adoption of new technologies and the high-quality development of the livestock industry. I wonder if Mexico faces similar challenges in promoting sustainable farming practices.

Author Response

General comment:  In this study, the authors explored the perception of the sustainable cattle ranching concept among producers, extension agents, and officials. The sampling method is appropriate, and the results are reliable. The interview outcomes align well with the identities of the sample population and the developmental stage of Mexico's cattle industry. Furthermore, the interpretation and discussion are well-grounded. The results not only reflect the situation of the cattle industry in Mexico but may also be applicable to the livestock industry in other developing countries. The findings indicate that the conceptualization of sustainable ranching differs across various groups, and more government policies are needed to ensure that true sustainable farming can be achieved.

 In my opinion, the article can be accepted for publication in its current form.

Comments 1: Besides, I am intrigued by a question: In the section discussing the perception of sustainable cattle ranching, was there any mention of whether young people are unwilling to engage in cattle ranching or other livestock-related work? Based on the age of the three groups studied, it is clear that producers are generally older, while the agents and officials tend to be younger. In China, it is difficult to recruit young people for frontline livestock farming jobs. Workers on farms are often retirees from other industries, who are semi-retired and may lack the responsibility and ambition of younger individuals. This could impact the adoption of new technologies and the high-quality development of the livestock industry. I wonder if Mexico faces similar challenges in promoting sustainable farming practices.

Response 1: Thank you for your opinion and for pointing this out. In this regard, I made a modification and adjustment in the results and discussion section (3.1 Characteristics of the social actors) (Page 7, lines 267 - 277). The same thing happens in Mexico, various studies have reported an average age of livestock producers in the country above 50 years, and in our journey and experiences in rural communities, we have observed very little interest from young people in collaborating and taking ownership of field activities and they tend to emigrate to the United States.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of producers, extension agents, and officials on sustainable cattle ranching (SCR) in a region where tropical cattle ranching is common. The research involved a survey conducted with producers selected through stratified random sampling, while extension agents and officials were chosen using the snowball sampling method. The findings suggest that overall attitudes towards sustainable cattle ranching are positive, although the understanding of the concept varies depending on each individual's role, educational background, and expectations in the industry. 

The manuscript aligns with the journal's scope and may be accepted after some minor revisions, such as:

1. The introduction is too lengthy. Please focus on information that directly relates to and supports your objectives.

2. Please include the hypothesis of your study and, in the discussion section, indicate whether or not it was successfully tested.

3. You mentioned that your experiment started in July 2013. Is this correct, or did you mean 2023? If the experiment was conducted in 2013, the data would be outdated, and many procedures may have changed since then. Conclusions and recommendations should not be based on old data.

4. In Table 2, you stated that 66 out of 155 producers owned small farms (1-20 hectares). Please discuss this point in your manuscript, emphasizing that the majority of the data was collected from smallholders.

 

Author Response

General comment:  

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of producers, extension agents, and officials on sustainable cattle ranching (SCR) in a region where tropical cattle ranching is common. The research involved a survey conducted with producers selected through stratified random sampling, while extension agents and officials were chosen using the snowball sampling method. The findings suggest that overall attitudes towards sustainable cattle ranching are positive, although the understanding of the concept varies depending on each individual's role, educational background, and expectations in the industry. 

 The manuscript aligns with the journal's scope and may be accepted after some minor revisions, such as:

Comments 1: The introduction is too lengthy. Please focus on information that directly relates to and supports your objectives.

Response 1: We agree with this comment. Therefore, we have thoroughly reviewed the information relevant to our objectives and made substantial adjustments to the wording; in addition, the following text, which we consider to be somewhat repetitive, has been removed (Page 2, line 67):” This approach has shown clear evidence of unsustainability, due to the associated effects through soil degradation, contamination of natural resources, high risk of acute or chronic poisoning due to the use of agrotoxins, loss of agrobiodiversity, socioeconomic polarization, abandonment of the activity and migration, as a result of a purely economic model. in addition to the contribution of greenhouse gases [5,7,12,20]".

Comments 2: Please include the hypothesis of your study and, in the discussion section, indicate whether or not it was successfully tested.

Response 2: Thank you for pointing this out. In this regard, we have included our study hypothesis in the introduction section (page 3, lines 112-114). This was also highlighted in the results and discussion section of the reviewed document, regarding the respective test of the hypothesis (page 14, lines 501-507).

Comments 3: You mentioned that your experiment started in July 2013. Is this correct, or did you mean 2023? If the experiment was conducted in 2013, the data would be outdated, and many procedures may have changed since then. Conclusions and recommendations should not be based on old data.

Response 3: Thank you for your comment, we agree with this. We recognize that the data is somewhat old (2013) and for many reasons we are just now trying to publish it. Although we know that many procedures have changed, we believe that due to the still incipient promotion and implementation of sustainable rural development in Mexico and other developing countries, this information is relevant to awaken and change consciences and induce producers, extension workers and officials to move towards sustainable livestock farming.

Given your very accurate comment, but in the understanding that in the general context of the document it is clear that this is not a recent study, we have adjusted the conclusions (page 14, lines 519-525) to warn that the data is old, but relevant to be considered in the sustainable development policies of bovine livestock farming, recognizing that it is necessary to promote more changes in the consciences of the people involved and not only the practices and technologies considered sustainable.

Comments 4: In Table 2, you stated that 66 out of 155 producers owned small farms (1-20 hectares). Please discuss this point in your manuscript, emphasizing that the majority of the data was collected from smallholders.

Response 4: Thank you for your opinion and for pointing this out. We agree with your suggestion. However, we consider that the respective wording on page 5, lines 183 - 186, as well as the distribution of Table 2 itself, is sufficient to emphasize that the data was collected from a majority of smallholders.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the manuscript, the authors studied the Perception of the sustainable cattle ranching concept in producers, extension agents and officials of Oaxaca, Mexico. However, the following comments can be made. 1. Abstract. There is no brief description of the results obtained. 2. Introduction. There is no purpose of the study. 3. Conclusion. There are no specific results of the study. The results should be described and assessed.

Author Response

General comment:  

In the manuscript, the authors studied the Perception of the sustainable cattle ranching concept in producers, extension agents and officials of Oaxaca, Mexico. However, the following comments can be made.

Comments 1: Abstract. There is no brief description of the results obtained.

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree with this comment. We have therefore expanded and improved the results in the abstract.

Comments 2: Introduction. There is no purpose of the study.

Response 2: Thank you for your comment. We revised the introduction section and made sure that the purpose of the study is presented (Page 3, lines 112-116).

Comments 3 Conclusion. There are no specific results of the study. The results should be described and assessed.

Response 3: Thank you for pointing this out. We have substantially improved the conclusions in this regard.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx