Assessing the impact of tailored biosecurity advice on farmer behaviour and pathogen presence in beef herds in England and Wales

Cardwell, J. M.; Winden, S C L Van; Beauvais, Wendy; Mastin, Alexander; Glanville, William A. de; Hardstaff, Jo; Booth, Richard; Fishwick, John; Pfeiffer, Dirk U.

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.10.018

Cited by 28 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…As previously described in other studies (e.g. Cardwell et al, ), veterinarians are considered to be the main source of information for farmers to learn about biosecurity and therefore their training and communication skills are highly relevant (Hamood, Chur‐Hansen, & McArthur, ; Ruston et al, ). In this sense, some researchers have pointed to the fact that veterinarians usually give more importance to their own knowledge than to the opinion of their clients (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…the subjective norm (Ajzen, 1991)). This might be influenced by personal relationships (Cardwell et al, 2016;Ellis-Iversen et al, 2010;Shortall et al, 2016), action and communication dynamics (Heffernan, Nielsen, Thomson, & Gunn, 2008;Sayers, Good, & Sayers, 2014), or by the relationship between farmers and veterinarians working in the public administration (i.e. official veterinary services (OVS)), where organizational and institutional support (Kristensen & Jakobsen, 2011) and bureaucracy (Hovi, Mcleod, & Gunn, 2005) can be relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Moya

Serrano

Espluga

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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Biosecurity measures are a set of management procedures that prevent the risk of introducing and spreading infectious diseases to a farm, although these measures are rarely implemented in dairy farms. There are some studies that have identified that the decision to implement biosecurity measures can be influenced by several psychosocial factors (attitudes and behaviours). Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the psychosocial factors (and their interactions) influencing the implementation of biosecurity measures in dairy farms in Spain, through the views of dairy farmers and veterinarians from Catalonia (northeast Spain) and Galicia (northwest Spain). Face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews were performed with 16 dairy farmers (nine from Catalonia and seven from Galicia) and 16 veterinarians (eight from Catalonia and eight from Galicia). Grounded theory analysis was performed on the transcripts, following the subtopics of: information sources, individual factors of the farmer, social dynamics, official veterinary services and other factors. The study identified the importance of veterinarians as a source of information, including their communication skills, the individual experiences of farmers, traditions of the farms and availability of time and space in the dairy farmer's decisions making. Further, it suggests the need to deepen the knowledge of the farm workers and the obligatory biosecurity measures. This research represents a starting point to develop future strategies to improve the implementation of biosecurity measures in dairy farms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Moya

Serrano

Espluga

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, attitudes of farmers might change when enrolled in a study. Cardwell et al, (2016) showed decreased risks of diseases for both control and intervention group of farms participating in a longitudinal study about biosecurity. Lastly, farmers that were usually adopting proper control measures against DD in their herds (e.g., treating DD-affected cows) could also be more likely to implement both external and internal biosecurity, which might have influenced the presented findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Associations between biosecurity practices and bovine digital dermatitis in Danish dairy herds

Oliveira

Sørensen

Thomsen

2017

Journal of Dairy Science

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The relationship between biosecurity and digital dermatitis (DD) was evaluated in 8,269 cows from a convenience sample of 39 freestall dairy herds. The hypothesis was that poor implementation of biosecurity was associated with higher within-herd prevalence of DD. All lactating cows were scored as negative or positive for DD at the hind legs during milking in the milking parlor. Information about biosecurity was obtained through questionnaires addressed to farmers, on-farm observations, and information from the Danish Cattle Database (www.seges.dk). These assessment tools covered potential infection sources of DD pathogens to susceptible cows (e.g., via animals, humans, manure, vehicles, equipment, and facilities). External and internal biosecurity measures were explanatory variables in 2 separate logistic regression models, whereas within-herd DD prevalence was the outcome. Overall DD prevalence among cows and herds were 24 and 97%, respectively; the within-herd DD prevalence ranged from 0 to 56%. Poor external biosecurity measures associated with higher prevalence of DD were recent animal purchase, access to pasture, lack of boots available for visitors, farm staff working at other dairy farms as well, hoof trimming without a professional attending, and animal transporters having access to cattle area. For internal biosecurity, higher DD prevalence were associated with infrequent hoof bathing, manure scraping less than 8 times a day, manure removal direction from cows to heifers, animal pens' exit without water hoses, manure-handling vehicle used in other activities, and water troughs contaminated with manure. These findings showed that improvements on biosecurity may be beneficial for controlling DD in dairy herds. The study is relevant for farmers facing problems with DD, as well as hoof trimmers, advisors, and veterinarians, who can use the results for optimized recommendations regarding biosecurity in relation to DD. Furthermore, our results might be considered by future studies investigating DD pathogen reservoirs and transmission routes.

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“…On the limitations we are aware that there are some recent quantitative studies that have measured the effect on biosecurity practices on key animal diseases [16]. Thus, some of the conclusions from this meeting should be tested in order to measure the real impact of the practical application of biosecurity interventions in herds and flocks in NI in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective

Lahuerta‐Marin

Finney

O’Hagan³

et al. 2018

Ir Vet J

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BackgroundAgriculture and farming are valued contributors to local economy in Northern Ireland (NI). There is limited knowledge about farmers’ behaviours and attitudes towards disease biosecurity measures. As part of a larger project, a scenario-based workshop with key stakeholders was organised by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)-NI in December 2015.ResultsA total of 22 participants belonging to 12 different institutions took part in the workshop. Participants were presented with an overview of previously conducted biosecurity research in NI and England. In small groups, participants were subsequently asked to discuss and give their opinions about a series of questions across four key areas in a semi-structured approach with an external facilitator. The key areas were 1- disease risk perception at the farm level; 2-perceived barriers to implementing on farm biosecurity measures; 3- avenues to successful behaviour change and 4-key industry responsibilities and roles. The discussion showed that training in biosecurity for farmers is important and necessary. Training was recommended to be provided by veterinary surgeons, preferably via a face-to-face format. The discussion addressing disease disclosure proved particularly challenging between those who were prospective buyers of cattle, and those who sold cattle.ConclusionsThis workshop provided a unique and invaluable insight into key issues regarding farm level biosecurity activities. From a policy perspective, delivering improved on-farm biosecurity must be addressed via a multidisciplinary approach. This can only be achieved with active involvement, commitment and support of a number of key industry and government stakeholders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13620-018-0125-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Assessing the impact of tailored biosecurity advice on farmer behaviour and pathogen presence in beef herds in England and Wales

Cited by 28 publications

References 34 publications

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Dairy farmers’ decision‐making to implement biosecurity measures: A study of psychosocial factors

Associations between biosecurity practices and bovine digital dermatitis in Danish dairy herds

Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective

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