Recently, several EU countries, including the Republic of Ireland, have struggled to meet legally binding commitments to reduce ammonia emissions. Some farmers readily embrace abatement measures, whereas others reject them and it could be argued that farmers’ technology rejection decisions have been studied in less detail within the literature. However, understanding why some farmers reject recommended farming practices holds critical information that helps to inform policy, tailor government support schemes, and reduce pro-innovation biases. This study builds on the Grounded Theory method, data collected from focus group discussions with dairy and beef cattle farmers across eight key farming regions, and inductive thematic analysis. Three main themes, six subthemes and 26 codes were defined. The adoption of recommended bovine farming methods was hindered by affordability, compatibility, usability, availability, and information-related barriers. Participants also expressed frustration with unfair pressure to reduce agricultural emissions along with insufficient recognition of the environmental benefits provided by well-managed grasslands, the contributions cattle production makes to global food production, and the sustainability progress they have already achieved. We recommend that future reforms of the EU Common Agricultural Policy adopt a coordinated policy approach. It should simultaneously target all the nitrogen-related farm environmental issues and fully consider the local farmers perspectives in policy design and implementation. The reforms should include accessible support schemes for small-scale farm owners and more effective efforts to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of farm ammonia ₃ emissions, available abatement methods, and the correction of misinformation.