Would you bet on the vet? Influences on dairy farmers' vaccination choices, with a spotlight on the Veterinarian impact.

Ensuring effective vaccination is crucial for epidemic control, particularly in voluntary vaccination scenarios. Though highly important for planning voluntary vaccination programs, we lack insights into the effectiveness of veterinarian communication and the impact of disease-specific traits on farmer vaccination intentions. To fill this void, our study compared five diseases affecting Israeli dairy cattle (Botulism, Bovine Ephemeral Fever (BEF), Brucellosis, Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), and Rabies). Using questionnaires grounded in the theory of planned behavior, we surveyed 340 Israeli dairy farmers to understand their vaccination intentions for each disease.Simultaneously, veterinarians overseeing these farms provided insights into their opinions and perceived influence on vaccination decisions. Results revealed varying levels of farmer vaccination intention, with Botulism showing the highest and BEF the lowest. Social pressure significantly influenced farmers' vaccination intentions, with distinct patterns across diseases. Veterinarian opinions had the highest influence only for LSD, while other factors played crucial roles in different diseases. Intriguingly, there was no correlation between veterinarians' recommendations and farmers' perceptions of these recommendations. In conclusion, the optimization of voluntary vaccination programs necessitates tailoring interventions to the unique characteristics of each disease. Additionally, improving communication between veterinarians and farmers is essential, with an emphasis on effective risk communication training.

Perception of low social pressure and lack of capacity reduces vaccination compliance - The case of lumpy skin disease.

Successful prevention of epidemics depends on implementation of control measures, including vaccine compliance and maintenance of high vaccination coverage for long periods. However, to the best of our knowledge, a study of the temporal dynamics of compliance in voluntary vaccination campaigns and of the factors which influence them was never published. In this study, we investigated the factors influencing the dynamics of vaccination compliance against lumpy skin disease (LSD) after the occurrence of LSD epidemics in Israel in 2012-2013 and 2019. From 2016 to 2019, we followed voluntary LSD annual vaccination among a cohort of 566 farmers and used questionnaires based on the theory of planned behaviour to investigate the incentives influencing vaccine compliance among 90 farmers. The results showed a reduction in vaccination against LSD from 61% in 2016 to 27% in 2019 and a very strong association between prior vaccination and vaccination compliance. The actual vaccination by farmers who stated a positive intention to vaccinate was 4.5 times higher than farmers who did not (p-value = .007). However, half of the highly intended farmers eventually did not vaccinate their herd. These farmers were significantly more concerned by manpower and vaccine price compared to their vaccinating counterparts, pointing to vaccination effort perceptions as a major factor influencing compliance. In addition, we found that farmers who answered the questionnaires before the LSD epidemic of 2019 perceived significantly less pressure to vaccinate imposed by veterinary organizations (private and governmental) than farmers answering them during or after the epidemic. We conclude that the veterinarian-associated social pressure is a major compliance-enhancing factor, influenced by the occurrence of an epidemic. Our findings suggest that the deterioration of vaccination compliance after an epidemic can be mitigated by maintenance of pressure to vaccinate by veterinarians. Manpower support and vaccine discounts may be advocated to promote vaccine compliance.

The impact of the fipronil crisis on the financial performance of Dutch laying hen farms.

BACKGROUND: Illegal use of fipronil as an insecticide in 2017 has caused substantial damage to Dutch laying hen farms. We assessed how the fipronil crisis has affected the financial performance of affected farms as well as unaffected farms. While affected farms faced culling their flocks and lost revenue, unaffected farms benefitted from temporary high egg prices. METHODS: A three-step normative modelling approach is taken using financial statements and a partial budget. The estimations are for a 50,000 laying hen farm facing the fipronil crisis for 5 months. First, a baseline is created by generating an income statement of this laying hen farm representing a 'normal year'. Second, incremental costs and revenue as a result of the fipronil crisis are estimated. Third, the baseline income statement is updated with the outcomes of the partial budget. This results in two additional income statements that report the net operating result of this farm being unaffected and affected by the fipronil crisis. RESULTS: While in a normal year this average-sized farm has a net operating result of around 18,000 euros, profitability was estimated to be - 369,000 euros and + 169,000 euros for the affected and unaffected farm due to the crisis respectively. For affected farms, impacts were especially high as there was no government compensation or insurance. CONCLUSIONS: As Dutch farms typically operate as independent family farms, there was also no compensation from other chain actors. The affected farms therefore likely have faced financial distress and have had to increase debt or use their financial reserves for household consumption and restarting the business. Outcomes contribute to discussions around liability claims and cost-benefit assessments of measures to improve the chain food safety and rapid alert systems.

Understanding the effect of producers' attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control on intentions to use antimicrobials prudently on New York dairy farms.

Understanding farmers' behavior, motivations, and perceptions toward antimicrobial use can influence how veterinarians translate research into practice and guide effective ways of implementing protocols. A multidisciplinary team investigated behavioral tendencies of New York dairy farmers toward antimicrobial use by administering a survey modeled with the reasoned action approach. This approach is a framework from social psychology containing the constructs attitude, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control, and is used in combination with structural equation modeling to determine what drives intentions. Multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) models were then used to determine the effects of beliefs on their underlying constructs. The objective of the study was to provide direct and indirect measures of the constructs using survey data to determine importance of and associations with intention to use antimicrobials prudently. The structural equation model indicated that perceived behavioral control explained intention. Thus, farmers who feel capable of prudent use expressed positive intentions. Attitude and perception of others also had influence to a lesser extent. MIMIC models showed that the most important attributes of instrumental attitude were increasing profitability, decreasing risk of residues, and increasing herd health. Contributing attributes of affective attitude were job satisfaction, decreasing resistance, and increasing milk production. For perceived norms, the attributes were opinions/approval of family and peers, veterinarians, and milk processors. Finally, for perceived behavioral control, attributes focused on saving money on labor and treatment, ability to fit into the daily routine, and effectiveness with veterinary guidance. In conclusion, the best approach for adoption of practices might be presentation of examples of successful strategies by other producers, particularly in peer groups. In addition, veterinarians should provide the tools and guidance needed to produce economic gain, reduction of risks associated with residues and resistance, and positive experiences when using the tactics.