Opinions and practices of veterinarians and dairy farmers towards herd health management in the UK

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Hall, J. and Wapenaar, Wendela (2012) Opinions and practices of veterinarians and dairy farmers towards herd health management in the UK. Veterinary Record, 170 (17). ISSN 0042-4900

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Abstract

The objective was to compare farm veterinary surgeons’ and dairy farmers’ opinions on

herd health plans and herd health and production management with the aim of discovering

and better understanding the differences. Two comparable questionnaires, one for farm

veterinarians and one for dairy farmers, were distributed throughout the UK. While listing

the ‘major roles’ of the veterinarian on the farm, veterinarians considered ‘optimising milk

production’, ‘decreasing overall cost’ and ‘being an independent adviser’ as important

roles, but these were not seem to be perceived as such by the farmers. In addition, when

presenting themselves to clients, veterinarians seemed to favour the ‘friend of the farmer’

approach; a much smaller proportion of farmers seemed to prefer this approach. The majority

of farm respondents (98 of 121; 81 per cent) valued the discussions with their veterinarian,

and it was apparent from the relatively small proportion of veterinarians instigating a

discussion on farm (33 of 125; 26 per cent) that there is the opportunity for a more proactive

approach from veterinarians. The study underlines that ‘demonstrating cost-effectiveness’ is

still a main concern for veterinarians and farmers and identifies areas that can be improved

by more training and effective communication.

Item Type: Article
RIS ID: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/709877
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.100318
Depositing User: de Sousa, Mrs Shona
Date Deposited: 17 Apr 2014 10:45
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 16:32
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/2974

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