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Evaluation of the impact of a Herd Health and Production Management programme in organic dairy cattle farms: a process evaluation approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2017

J. E. Duval ,
N. Bareille ,
A. Madouasse ,
M. de Joybert ,
K. Sjöström ,
U. Emanuelson ,
F. Bonnet-Beaugrand  and
C. Fourichon
J. E. Duval*
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
N. Bareille
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
A. Madouasse
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
M. de Joybert
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
K. Sjöström
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Ruminant Medicine and Veterinary Epidemiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7054, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
U. Emanuelson
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Ruminant Medicine and Veterinary Epidemiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7054, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
F. Bonnet-Beaugrand
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
C. Fourichon
Affiliation:
BIOEPAR, INRA, Oniris, 44307 Nantes, France
*
† E-mail: julie.duval@oniris-nantes.fr
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Abstract

Animal health planning activities are not always providing a satisfactory positive impact on herd health and welfare. Moreover, evaluating the impact of advisory programmes is complex due to multiple interacting elements that influence its outcome. Therefore, measuring solely health outcomes is not sufficient: the whole process of the implementation and use of such programmes should be evaluated. In order to evaluate the impact of an intervention with a Herd Health and Production Management (HHPM) programme a process evaluation framework was designed and used. The intervention involved 20 organic dairy cattle farmers and their advisors, in both France and Sweden. In both countries 20 organic dairy farms were selected as control herds. The evaluation of the HHPM programme was based on: (a) the compliance to the programme; (b) the programme’s functions influencing herd health management practices and stimulating dialogue between farmers and advisors; (c) its effectiveness in terms of improving herd health compared with control farms. Complete compliance to the programme was fulfilled by 21 out of 40 farmers–advisors. Results from a questionnaire showed that the programme functioned as intended (e.g. by allowing early identification of herd health problems), stimulated change in farmers’ herd health management practices and farmer–advisor dialogue. Even though the majority of the users perceived that the programme contributed to herd health improvements, no significant differences in health outcomes were found when compared with control farms 12 months after the start of the intervention. The programme allowed creating an environment promoting the exchange of information between farmers and advisors, necessary to define pertinent advice in a farm-specific situation. Future research should aim at improving methods for the evaluation of the effect of advisory programmes, by identifying early indicators for effective advice and developing methods to evaluate the quality of advisory situations without interfering with them.

Keywords

dairy cattleanimal health planningadvisorsextension servicescomplex interventions
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 7 , July 2018 , pp. 1475 - 1483
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

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