This paper presents key findings from a research, development and extension program conducted between 2001 and 2009 in six villages in South Sulawesi and Central Lombok to develop and test a participatory, farming systems approach for evaluating and increasing the adoption of strategies for improving Bali cattle production in the smallholder farming systems of Eastern Indonesia. A whole farm model, called Integrated Analysis Tool, was developed to capture the particular features of Eastern Indonesian smallholder farming systems, including Bali Cattle feed responses, local feed types and management practices. Smallholders actively participated in every step of the process from benchmarking, identification of cattle production constraints and opportunities, the selection and field testing of best-bet strategies and the extension of technologies to other households. This research approach resulted in sustained adoption of a package of best-bet technologies by the 30 participating smallholder households with an intention to continue these practices into the future. It further resulted in positive production, social and economic impacts, as well as significant adoption/adaption of the livestock improvement technologies by other households exposed to the practices.