TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘It's cheaper than a dead cow’: Understanding veterinary medicine use on dairy farms
AU - Rees, Gwen
AU - Buller, Henry
AU - Reyher, Kristen K
AU - Barret, David C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research was provided by the Langford Trust for Animal Health and Welfare , Registered Charity no. 900380 . The funding source were not involved in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/8/31
Y1 - 2021/8/31
N2 - This study offers a detailed and original assessment of the practices of prescription veterinary medicine use on UK dairy farms. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance as a global threat has necessitated an increasing focus on medicine use in agriculture. While an abundance of studies have recently emerged to demonstrate and evaluate strategies for medicine reduction, this paper seeks to understand the context and the on-farm culture within which treatment practices occur on a sample of UK dairy farms. Arguing that the experiential knowledge, on-farm culture and informal information flows are as important as ‘science’ in the practice of treatment decision making and drawing on extensive participant observation fieldwork combined with semi-structured interviews, this paper identifies and discusses three key themes that develop and, in places, challenge our current understanding of farmer treatment practices. These areas - treatment knowledge and understanding, a duty of care and autonomy of treatment practice - are seen to have complex effects on the use of veterinary medicines in dairy cattle and, as such, highlight critical areas for further research and opportunities for policy interventions aimed at improving responsible medicine use.
AB - This study offers a detailed and original assessment of the practices of prescription veterinary medicine use on UK dairy farms. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance as a global threat has necessitated an increasing focus on medicine use in agriculture. While an abundance of studies have recently emerged to demonstrate and evaluate strategies for medicine reduction, this paper seeks to understand the context and the on-farm culture within which treatment practices occur on a sample of UK dairy farms. Arguing that the experiential knowledge, on-farm culture and informal information flows are as important as ‘science’ in the practice of treatment decision making and drawing on extensive participant observation fieldwork combined with semi-structured interviews, this paper identifies and discusses three key themes that develop and, in places, challenge our current understanding of farmer treatment practices. These areas - treatment knowledge and understanding, a duty of care and autonomy of treatment practice - are seen to have complex effects on the use of veterinary medicines in dairy cattle and, as such, highlight critical areas for further research and opportunities for policy interventions aimed at improving responsible medicine use.
KW - Dairy farming
KW - Ethnography
KW - Veterinary medicine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111559410&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.020
DO - 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.07.020
M3 - Article
SN - 0743-0167
VL - 86
SP - 587
EP - 598
JO - Journal of Rural Studies
JF - Journal of Rural Studies
ER -