Introduction: The implementation of cultivated land quality protection is fundamental for ensuring the sustainable use of land resources, and it is the inevitable choice for maintaining the balance of agricultural ecology and promoting the long-term healthy development of agriculture. Methods: Based on survey data from 927 grain family farms in 13 major grain-producing areas in China, this paper empirically tests the effects of participation in cooperatives on the cultivated land quality protection behavior of grain family farms by using a logit model, an ordered probit model and the propensit...