"They've got to be testing and doing something about it": Farmer and veterinarian views on drivers for Johne's disease control in dairy herds in England.

There needs to be an understanding of the reasons why key stakeholders engage in disease control efforts if disease is to be successfully and sustainably controlled. It is increasingly recognised within veterinary epidemiology and policy making in animal health that these 'people factors' are important influences on the success or otherwise of animal disease control programmes. Research methodologies adopted from the social sciences offer ways to understand this important dimension through investigating the attitudes and opinions of the key actors involved. The study reported in this paper, based on qualitative interview research, investigates the views of dairy farmers and cattle veterinarians on the drivers and incentives for controlling Johne's disease in English dairy herds. Twenty semi-structured interviews involving 17 dairy farmers and seven veterinarians were conducted in two dairy-intensive regions of England. The findings demonstrate the varied influences of veterinary advice and encouragement; appreciation of the economic cost of the disease at herd level; a voluntary national control plan; and fear of a future consumer food scare as the main reasons to engage in Johne's disease control on dairy farms. The study demonstrates how a combination of a voluntary industry-led control scheme, compulsory participation through retailer and processor contractual requirements, and threats of reputational harm and market loss have strongly influenced farmer and veterinary behaviour in relation to Johne's control without statutory involvement. The findings illustrate the importance of considering the political economy and societal impact of animal disease.

Cows with paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) alter their lying behavior around peak lactation.

Paratuberculosis or Johne's disease (JD) is a fatal chronic enteritis that causes detrimental effects on production and health and significantly reduces the welfare of cattle. Control of JD is highly desirable, but single milk ELISA testing may not be sensitive enough to identify all affected animals, particularly in the early stages of the disease. The objective of this study was to compare the activity of JD-positive (JD5) to JD-negative (JD0) cows from calving until wk 20 of lactation. The study was conducted at Harper Adams University, United Kingdom, using 42 multiparous [3.1 ± 0.22 (mean ± standard error of the mean); range: 2-7 lactations] Holstein Friesian cows, fitted with an IceQube accelerometer (IceRobotics Ltd., Edinburgh, UK) on the back left leg. The sensors recorded data on lying and standing time, steps, and motion index with a granularity of 15 min. In addition, start and stop times for lying bouts, and exact lying bout durations were recorded, which permits calculation of the number of lying bouts. Every 3 mo the cows were milk sampled and subsequently tested for JD using an ELISA. Cows in the infection group JD0 were classed as JD negative and cows in the infection group JD5 were classed as JD positive. Johne's-positive cows [JD5; n = 21 (repeat ELISA positive)] were matched to negative cows [JD0; n = 21 (repeat ELISA negative)] based on lactation number and age. Around peak lactation we found differences in lying behavior. The JD5 cows spend less time lying/d during wk 7 to 11 of lactation. The largest difference observed was around wk 8 of lactation, with JD5 cows spending, on average, 2 h/d less time lying down than JD0 cows (9.3 ± 0.33 vs. 11.3 ± 0.61 h/d, respectively). The JD5 cows also had fewer lying bouts per day from wk 7 to 15 of lactation (excluding wk 13), and during wk 11 and 12 average lying bout duration was longer for JD5 cows compared with JD0 cows. No differences were observed in steps per day, milk yield, BCS, and mobility score between JD5 and JD0 cows from calving to wk 20 of lactation. As far as we are aware, this is the first study to show changes in activity of JD-positive cows. The results show that activity data from leg-mounted accelerometers has the potential to help identify JD-positive cows, although more research is required.

Exploring dairy producer and veterinarian perceptions of barriers and motivators to adopting on-farm management practices for Johne's disease control in Ontario, Canada.

Motivating uptake of management change recommendations requires knowledge of the barriers and motivators influencing producer behavior. This study investigated dairy producers' and veterinarians' perceptions of the barriers and motivators influencing the adoption of Johne's disease (JD) control recommendations in Ontario, Canada. Eight focus groups, 6 with dairy producers and 2 with veterinarians, were conducted and thematically analyzed. Both producer and veterinarian groups identified physical resources (i.e., time, money, infrastructure) and producer mindset (i.e., perceived priority of JD, perceived practicality of JD control recommendations) as key barriers to adoption. Producers tended to prioritize JD control on their farm based on their lived experiences with JD and their view of the public's concern about JD. Many agreed that JD recommendations should focus on biosecurity more holistically and emphasize the broader health benefits of limiting calf exposure to many fecal-orally transmitted diseases. Producers also highlighted that some recommendations for on-farm change (i.e., keeping a closed herd, buying from low-risk herds) were unrealistic or too difficult to perform and often disrupted their habits or routine. In contrast, veterinarians suggested that most recommendations were practical and are routinely recommended. Participants suggested both extrinsic (i.e., incentives, premiums, penalties and regulations, and extension and communication) and intrinsic (i.e., pride and responsibility) methods for motivating producers. This study highlights the importance of producer mindset in on-farm change and offers insights into the attitudes and perceived barriers influencing on-farm change.

Evaluating the effect of Focus Farms on Ontario dairy producers' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward control of Johne's disease.

This study evaluated a participatory-based, experiential learning program, Ontario Focus Farms (FF), which aimed to change dairy producer behavior to control Johne's disease (JD) in Ontario, Canada. The goals were to (1) assess the effect of FF on participating dairy producers' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior with regard to JD control; (2) compare changes in these factors among FF participants to changes among a group of nonparticipating dairy producers; and (3) describe the characteristics of producers who made at least one on-farm management change. Pre- and post-FF intervention questionnaires collected data on respondents' knowledge, attitudes, behavior, herd production, and demographic information; before and after JD-risk assessments were used to assess respondents' on-farm risk of JD transmission. Overall, 176 dairy producers participated in the FF process; 39.8% (70/176) of FF and 14.6% (52/357) of control participants responded to both the pre- and postintervention questionnaires. Upon comparison, FF respondents were more likely to be younger, have larger herds, and have higher management scores. The proportion of FF participants who reported making at least one on-farm change (81%) was significantly higher than that of control respondents (38%). Overall, FF respondents significantly changed their risk score in 4 out of 5 risk areas and had an average reduction of 13 points in their overall risk score between before and after risk assessments. Control respondents' risk assessment scores did not significantly change during the study period. In a JD knowledge assessment, FF and control respondents exhibited a moderate knowledge score before the intervention period, with median scores of 75.9% (22/29) in each group. The FF respondents significantly increased their score at the postintervention assessment, with a median of 82.8% (24/29); control-respondent scores did not significantly change. Both FF and control respondents held strong positive attitudes toward JD control and felt a moderate amount of social pressure from veterinarians and industry organizations to make on-farm changes. However, they questioned their ability to effectively control JD on the farm. Last, participating in FF, having a moderate herd management score, having a positive perception about the practicality of on-farm recommendations, and having a singular learning preference were associated with increased odds of making an on-farm change. Overall, the FF process appears to be effective at influencing producer behavior toward implementing on-farm management practices for JD control. Future JD control programs should consider implementing peer-learning extension processes, such as FF, in combination with other extension approaches, to influence producer behavior.

Psychosocial investigation of individual and community responses to the experience of Ovine Johne's Disease in rural Victoria.

OBJECTIVE: This paper explores the psychosocial outcomes for individuals and communities in rural Victoria who experienced the outbreak of Ovine Johne's Disease (OJD). DESIGN: The study uses a qualitative methodology to analyse the minutes of evidence provided by the inquiry into the control of OJD to identify the psychosocial events, experiences and outcomes associated with the control of this outbreak. The inquiry was undertaken by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Victorian State Government. SETTING: Public hearings were undertaken by the committee across several rural Victorian communities and the state capital, Melbourne. SUBJECTS: The transcripts detail 136 submissions from 98 individuals and 23 organisations. OUTCOME MEASURES: The analysis aimed to provide insight into the impact of the disease on individuals and communities and also to explore the factors individuals perceived as associated with these outcomes. RESULTS: While the paper identifies that aspects of stock loss associated with the outbreak caused substantial emotional and economic distress, for farmers the most significant finding was the impact of the government control program on individuals, families and rural communities. The control program was perceived as having very limited scientific credibility and its implementation was described as heartless, inflexible and authoritarian. Involvement with the program resulted in farmers reporting emotions, such as, trauma, shame, guilt and stigma. Families became discordant and the sense of community within rural townships fragmented. Psychological outcomes of grief, depression and anxiety emerged as prevalent themes within families and communities. CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the need for significant attention to the management of rural disasters, such as, the OJD program. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: There is an acknowledgement in the literature that rural disasters have a significant impact on the well-being of individuals, families and communities. The major focus of the previous research has, however, been on the impact of economic losses with less recognition of the other psychosocial loss experiences that accompany the experience of rural disaster. This paper achieves a clear description of the experiences for individuals (trauma, stigma, sense of personal failure, loss of identity, diminished self esteem and family disruption) and communities (destroyed social cohesion, economic disharmony) caught up in the OJD disaster and explores the factors that individuals perceive as responsible for these outcomes. The mental health outcomes for individuals, such as, loss, grief and depression are also explored within this paper. This paper highlights the psychosocial complexity of the experience of rural disaster for individuals and communities significantly extending the current knowledge base in this area.