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Item Can lameness prevalence in dairy herds be predicted from farmers' reports of their motivation to control lameness and barriers to doing so? An observational study from New Zealand.(Elsevier B.V., 2024-04-01) Mason WA; Laven LJ; Huxley JN; Laven RAUnderstanding what motivates and prevents behavioral change in farmers is a critical step in disease control in dairy cattle. A total of 101 New Zealand dairy farmers across 8 regions were randomly enrolled into a cross-sectional study to investigate farmer barriers and motivators to lameness control for cows managed 100% at pasture and the relationship between these responses and the true lameness status on farm. Trained technicians lameness scored all lactating cows on the enrolled farms on 2 occasions during one lactation. Farm-level prevalence proportions were calculated as the mean of the 2 lameness scores. Enrolled farmers were asked their perception of lameness in the current milking season and responded to 26 ordinal Likert-type items with 5 options ranging from not important at all to extremely important. The questions were grouped under 3 categories; barriers to lameness control (n = 9), impacts of lameness (n = 10), and motivators to control lameness (n = 7). The association between farmer perception of lameness and lameness prevalence was reported using linear regression. Multiple-factor analysis was conducted to identify latent variable themes within the responses. Linear discriminant analysis was used to assess whether barriers, impacts, and motivators could be used to predict farmer perception of lameness and lameness prevalence. Lameness prevalence was 0.8% greater on farms where farmers perceived lameness as a moderate or a major problem compared with farms where the farmer perceived lameness as a minor problem or not a problem. Farmers ranked all potential motivators to lameness control as important and declared few barriers to be important at preventing them from controlling lameness. Feeling sorry for lame cows and pride in a healthy herd were the most important motivators, with lack of time and skilled labor the most important barriers. The most important effects of lameness were cow-related factors such as pain and production, with farm and industry impacts of less importance. Farmers place different weightings of importance on barriers to lameness control compared with motivators for lameness control. The impacts and motivators were strongly correlated with the first dimension from the multiple-factor analysis, with only weak correlation between barriers and the first dimension. Linear discriminant analysis identified that the importance that farmers place on barriers, motivators, and impacts of lameness were poor predictors of farmers' belief in regard to their lameness problem or actual lameness prevalence (above or below the median lameness prevalence for the study cohort). Despite relatively low lameness prevalence, many New Zealand dairy farmers believe lameness is a problem on their farm, and they rank welfare effects of lameness of high importance. To investigate how farmer behavior change can be used to manage lameness, future studies should consider theoretical social science frameworks beyond the theory of planned behavior or involve prospective interventional studies investigating farmer actions instead of beliefs.Item An observational study of farmer-reported clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy ewes.(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-07-01) Chambers G; Laven R; Grinberg A; Ridler A; Velathanthiri NAIMS: To describe the incidence, aetiology, treatment, and outcomes of farmer-reported clinical mastitis on New Zealand dairy sheep farms. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 20 spring-lambing New Zealand sheep milking farms over the 2022-2023 season. Clinical mastitis was defined as a change in the appearance of milk and/or signs of inflammation in the gland. Farmers were required to report all cases of clinical mastitis and collect information on affected ewes' demographics, clinical features, treatments (where applicable), and outcomes. Milk samples from mastitic glands were submitted for microbiological culture and identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). RESULTS: Partial or complete clinical mastitis data were available for 236 cases from 221 ewes on 18/20 study farms. Clinical mastitis was diagnosed in 0-6% of ewes at the farm level, with an overall incidence of 1.8 (95% CI = 1.0-3.2)% using the study data, or 2.3 (95% CI = 1.6-3.3)% using the study data and farmer estimates that included unreported cases. Cases occurred mostly in early lactation, with 59% detected during the lambing period (August-October), at a median of 7 (IQR 3, 40) days in milk. The majority of cases featured clots in the milk (59%), swelling (55%), and unevenness (71%) of the glands. Pyrexia (rectal temperature ≥ 40.0°C) was diagnosed in 25% of cases and depression (lethargy, inappetence, or inability to stand) in 26% of cases. Treatment was given to 46% of cases, with tylosin being the most commonly used treatment (50% of treated cases). The most common outcome was immediate drying off to be culled without treatment (32%), followed by still milking and recovered but with lasting problems (25%). Nearly half of all the milk samples submitted were culture negative. Streptococcus uberis (14%), non-aureus staphylococci (12%), and Staphylococcus aureus (11%) were the most common isolates, found on 12, 8 and 8 of the 16 farms with microbiological data, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical mastitis affected up to 6% of ewes at the farm level. Systemic signs were observed in one quarter of affected ewes, suggesting a role for supportive treatment. Clinical mastitis can be severe and challenging to fully resolve in New Zealand dairy sheep. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This is the first systematic study of clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy ewes. It provides baseline information specific to New Zealand conditions for farmers, veterinarians, and other advisors to guide the management of mastitis for the relatively new dairy sheep industry in New Zealand.Item Farm-level risk factors and treatment protocols for lameness in New Zealand dairy cattle.(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-05-08) Mason WA; Müller KR; Laven LJ; Huxley JN; Laven RAAims To identify farm-level risk factors for dairy cow lameness, and to describe lameness treatment protocols used on New Zealand dairy farms. Methods One hundred and nineteen farms from eight veterinary clinics within the major dairying regions of New Zealand were randomly enrolled into a cross-sectional lameness prevalence study. Each farmer completed a questionnaire on lameness risk factors and lameness treatment and management. Trained observers lameness scored cattle on two occasions, between October–December (spring, coinciding with peak lactation for most farms) and between January–March (summer, late lactation for most farms). A four-point (0–3) scoring system was used to assess lameness, with animals with a lameness score (LS) ≥2 defined as lame. At each visit, all lactating animals were scored including animals that had previously been identified lame by the farmer. Associations between the farmer-reported risk factors and lameness were determined using mixed logistic regression models in a Bayesian framework, with farm and score event as random effects. Results A lameness prevalence of 3.5% (2,113/59,631) was reported at the first LS event, and 3.3% (1,861/55,929) at the second LS event. There was a median prevalence of 2.8% (min 0, max 17.0%) from the 119 farms. Most farmers (90/117; 77%) relied on informal identification by farm staff to identify lame animals. On 65% (75/116) of farms, there was no external provider of lame cow treatments, with the farmer carrying out all lame cow treatments. Most farmers had no formal training (69/112; 62%). Animals from farms that used concrete stand-off pads during periods of inclement weather had 1.45 times the odds of lameness compared to animals on farms that did not use concrete stand-off pads (95% equal-tailed credible interval 1.07–1.88). Animals from farms that reported peak lameness incidence from January to June or all year-round, had 0.64 times odds of lameness compared to animals from farms that reported peak lameness incidence from July to December (95% equal-tailed credible interval 0.47–0.88). Conclusions Lameness prevalence was low amongst the enrolled farms. Use of concrete stand-off pads and timing of peak lameness incidence were associated with odds of lameness. Clinical relevance Veterinarians should be encouraging farmers to have formal lameness identification protocols and lameness management plans in place. There is ample opportunity to provide training to farmers for lame cow treatment. Management of cows on stand-off pads should consider the likely impact on lameness.Item Exposure to nonmicrobial N-glycolylneuraminic acid protects farmers' children against airway inflammation and colitis(y Elsevier Inc on behalf of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 4/01/2018) Frei R; Ferstl R; Roduit C; Ziegler M; Schiavi E; Barcik W; Rodriguez-Perez N; Wirz OF; Wawrzyniak M; Pugin B; Nehrbass D; Jutel M; Smolinska S; Konieczna P; Bieli C; Loeliger S; Waser M; Pershagen G; Riedler J; Depner M; Schaub B; Genuneit J; Renz H; Pekkanen J; Karvonen AM; Dalphin J-C; van Hage M; Doekes G; Akdis M; Braun-Fahrländer C; Akdis CA; von Mutius E; O'Mahony L; Lauener RP; Prevention of Allergy Risk factors for Sensitization in Children Related to Farming and Anthroposophic Lifestyle (PARSIFAL) study group; Protection Against Allergy Study in Rural Environments (PASTURE)/Mechanisms of Early Protective Exposures on Allergy Development (EFRAIM) study groupBACKGROUND: Childhood exposure to a farm environment has been shown to protect against the development of inflammatory diseases, such as allergy, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate whether both exposure to microbes and exposure to structures of nonmicrobial origin, such as the sialic acid N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), might play a significant role. METHODS: Exposure to Neu5Gc was evaluated by quantifying anti-Neu5Gc antibody levels in sera of children enrolled in 2 farm studies: the Prevention of Allergy Risk factors for Sensitization in Children Related to Farming and Anthroposophic Lifestyle (PARSIFAL) study (n = 299) and the Protection Against Allergy Study in Rural Environments (PASTURE) birth cohort (cord blood [n = 836], 1 year [n = 734], 4.5 years [n = 700], and 6 years [n = 728]), and we associated them with asthma and wheeze. The effect of Neu5Gc was examined in murine airway inflammation and colitis models, and the role of Neu5Gc in regulating immune activation was assessed based on helper T-cell and regulatory T-cell activation in mice. RESULTS: In children anti-Neu5Gc IgG levels correlated positively with living on a farm and increased peripheral blood forkhead box protein 3 expression and correlated inversely with wheezing and asthma in nonatopic subjects. Exposure to Neu5Gc in mice resulted in reduced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammatory cell recruitment to the lung. Furthermore, Neu5Gc administration to mice reduced the severity of a colitis model. Mechanistically, we found that Neu5Gc exposure reduced IL-17+ T-cell numbers and supported differentiation of regulatory T cells. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to microbial exposure, increased exposure to non-microbial-derived Neu5Gc might contribute to the protective effects associated with the farm environment.Item Cancer incidence in agricultural workers: Findings from an international consortium of agricultural cohort studies (AGRICOH).(Elsevier Ltd, 2021-12) Togawa K; Leon ME; Lebailly P; Beane Freeman LE; Nordby K-C; Baldi I; MacFarlane E; Shin A; Park S; Greenlee RT; Sigsgaard T; Basinas I; Hofmann JN; Kjaerheim K; Douwes J; Denholm R; Ferro G; Sim MR; Kromhout H; Schüz JBACKGROUND: Agricultural work can expose workers to potentially hazardous agents including known and suspected carcinogens. This study aimed to evaluate cancer incidence in male and female agricultural workers in an international consortium, AGRICOH, relative to their respective general populations. METHODS: The analysis included eight cohorts that were linked to their respective cancer registries: France (AGRICAN: n = 128,101), the US (AHS: n = 51,165, MESA: n = 2,177), Norway (CNAP: n = 43,834), Australia (2 cohorts combined, Australian Pesticide Exposed Workers: n = 12,215 and Victorian Grain Farmers: n = 919), Republic of Korea (KMCC: n = 8,432), and Denmark (SUS: n = 1,899). For various cancer sites and all cancers combined, standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each cohort using national or regional rates as reference rates and were combined by random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: During nearly 2,800,000 person-years, a total of 23,188 cancers were observed. Elevated risks were observed for melanoma of the skin (number of cohorts = 3, meta-SIR = 1.18, CI: 1.01-1.38) and multiple myeloma (n = 4, meta-SIR = 1.27, CI: 1.04-1.54) in women and prostate cancer (n = 6, meta-SIR = 1.06, CI: 1.01-1.12), compared to the general population. In contrast, a deficit was observed for the incidence of several cancers, including cancers of the bladder, breast (female), colorectum, esophagus, larynx, lung, and pancreas and all cancers combined (n = 7, meta-SIR for all cancers combined = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.77-0.90). The direction of risk was largely consistent across cohorts although we observed large between-cohort variations in SIR for cancers of the liver and lung in men and women, and stomach, colorectum, and skin in men. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that agricultural workers have a lower risk of various cancers and an elevated risk of prostate cancer, multiple myeloma (female), and melanoma of skin (female) compared to the general population. Those differences and the between-cohort variations may be due to underlying differences in risk factors and warrant further investigation of agricultural exposures.Item Resourceful, creative, and committed : the day-to-day work of agricultural extensionists in Kenya : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Extension at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Mbinya, RomanaBroadly, the role of public extension and advisory agents is to facilitate and support access to technical knowledge, information and technologies by farmers, farmer organisations and actors in the agricultural sector, through trainings and demonstrating appropriate technologies and innovations. This study challenges the view of extensionists as simply transferring technologies to farmers and has explored more broadly the day-to-day, lived experiences of extensionists. The research has focused on public extensionists who serve smallholder subsistence farmers who engage in diverse farming activities and are dispersed across a large geographical area. The research was completed using a qualitative case study research design, based on data collected through in-depth interviews, documents and participants’ observations. It emerged from this research that over 80% of the extensionists in this case were locals, and knowledgeable of and known by the community. They were familiar with local livelihoods and political dynamics and, therefore, were strongly embedded in the community. Over 90% of the extensionists who participated in the study had been doing extension work for all their working lives. Extensionists emerged as having strong networks among actors in the local and national extension, and agricultural systems. The extensionists’ work emerged as a hybrid of a demand-supply driven extension system where they respond to direct farmer inquiries, as well as supply services to farmers in accordance with projects and government accountabilities and goals. This research highlights the extent to which much of what extensionists do in a developing country context in a government extension service, dominated by project work, is not directly working with farmers to service their needs. This research shows the huge extent of work undertaken by extensionists behind the scenes (referred to as back-office work) and the interconnectedness between activities extensionists do with farmers and what they do with other extension actors. Primarily, the day-to-day work of extensionists included servicing smallholder farmers’ needs and gathering solutions from multiple sources to contribute to addressing these needs. Extensionists emerged as resource brokers who glean, leverage, optimise, haggle, barter, piggyback, coach, lobby, and advocate for financial and physical resources to support their extension work and to support farmers. Extensionists negotiated and collaborated with farmers to translate, adapt, transfer, and implement farm technologies to meet farmers’ contextual challenges. Extensionists worked to deliver on multiple projects and optimise project benefits for farmers within the project timeline. The study shows that extensionists deliver on employment commitments as government employees and work to meet their expected Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and work to maintain and build legitimacy in their roles as extensionists with government, local politicians, NGOs, and the wider community. Extensionists leveraged on their networks to access information, knowledge, technologies, and physical and financial resources. A significant contribution of this study was the finding that extensionists are resource brokers and the illustration of the creativity and the amount of effort they put into resources financially and physically, their work, and for the farmers. A further contribution this research makes is to highlight that Kenyan extensionists work to maintain and build legitimacy of their role. While extensionists emerged as working with smallholder farmers to reduce the impact of and build resilience to climate change, there was no evidence of the way they work with farmers or the broader extension system. The work of extensionists is deeply embedded in the traditional designs and ways of doing extension. These research findings clearly show the extent of resourcefulness and creativity of extensionists and their ability to develop strategies to navigate the multiple demands and the accountabilities placed by farmers, the employer, projects, funding entities and other actors in the extension system. Resource brokering and networking emerged as key strategies which enable extensionists do what they do. These findings will inform education and extension policy on the training of extensionists to include imparting capabilities and skills about resource brokering as it is a significant part of their job. These results suggest the need for further studies which explore new, positive, and meaningful ways of engaging with farmers to assist them to learn and change as needed.Item Smallholder farmers' agricultural support services system in northern Sri Lanka : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Extension at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Geretharan, ThivaharySmallholder agriculture is argued to be a key driver in the recovery and overall economic growth for rural populations in developing countries. There is little understanding on the agricultural support services accessed by smallholder farmers in the northern Sri Lankan context and what influence their access and why those support services are accessed by farmers. Further, little is known about how various agricultural support service providers are providing services to smallholder farmers in this context and what influence their provision. The research reported in this thesis examined and explored the smallholder farmers’ agricultural support system in the northern context of Sri Lanka. The aim of the study was to contribute to enhancing the provision of support services to smallholder farmers in northern Sri Lanka. A single case study design was employed, and data for the study were collected primarily from semi-structured interviews. Secondary data were gathered from relevant documents. The data collected through interviews and documents were analysed using qualitative data analysis. This research highlights that smallholder farmers are willingly, openly and without distrust engaging in relationships with commercial service providers despite having only limited experience in these types of interactions. Farmers value the standard of service but also seek to supply produce to a commercial trader with a well-recognised reputation. The service providers the farmers interact with are also linked to the particular farm enterprise they are engaged with and farm enterprises are differentiated on gender. The study further found that Government providers with no commercial interests are collaborated with providers with commercial interests associated with their interactions with smallholder farmers. In northern Sri Lanka it appears Government services are in no way seen as competitive with commercial service providers, rather for those commercial service providers who do not or are not in a position to provide certain services provided by Government they link farmers to Government to access these services. This linking to services adds value to the relationship between smallholders and commercial service providers. The insights gained from the study into what support services are accessed by smallholder farmers and why are they accessing and how are agricultural support service providers providing services to smallholder farmers need to be considered when designing policies and development programmes to enhance the support service provision in the northern context as well as other parts of Sri Lanka.Item Measuring change in farmers' self-efficacy within the context of managing perennial summer forage crops : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture and Environment at Massey University, Manawatū Campus, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Drysdale, DouglasThere is a continual need to consider ways of improving agricultural extension as concern is expressed with the slow farmer uptake of complex new agricultural technologies. Existing agricultural extension research suggests psychological drivers, such as farmers’ self-efficacy beliefs, may be a key variable influencing farmers’ adoption of new technologies. The focus of this study was to firstly measure change in farmers’ self-efficacy as they participated in an innovative agricultural extension programme designed to support learning about the management of perennial summer forage crops (PSF). The second aim was to identify factors that may have enhanced or undermined changes in the farmers’ efficacy beliefs in this domain. Finally, this study aimed to explore how changes in farmers’ self-efficacy might influence their future practice. The participants in this study were thirty-five sheep and beef farmers from the Hawkes Bay, Manawatū and Wairarapa regions of New Zealand. The Riverside Farmer Learning Project (RFLP) provided the platform on which to measure change in farmers’ self-efficacy. A multiphase mixed methods research approach was adopted for this study. A Farmer Self-Efficacy Measurement survey (FSEM) was developed to measure change in farmers’ self-efficacy within the domain of managing PSF. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and field observations provided the opportunity to identify factors that enhanced or undermined changes in farmers’ self-efficacy to manage these forage crops. This study found that farmers’ self-efficacy increased during their 18-month involvement in the RFLP. The project’s collaborative style of knowledge sharing, as well as the opportunity to observe and share experiences with valued peers served to enhance the farmers’ self-efficacy and facilitated new learning about managing PSF. A lack of easily sourced, scientifically robust information concerning the economic effect of PSF weed and plant health management served to undermine the farmers’ self-efficacy within this domain. These new understandings and increased self-efficacy beliefs supported improved practices that lead to the potential to increase farm production. The results of the study suggest that a farmer’s belief in their ability to initiate change in the future is reliant on past successes that employed practices based on scientific evidence. The study also suggests that vicarious experiences are important for farmers where they can observe and talk about the practices of other farmers who have successfully made changes within their farm system, and engage in dialogue with scientists whose research interests focus on the domain of farmer learning. Considering how farmers’ new understandings and self-efficacy beliefs may shape future changes in farm practices, this study provides evidence regarding future development in the design of agricultural extension programmes.Item "Values that are to be safeguarded" : meeting the challenge of improving the health of waterways on agricultural land : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Prickett, Miriama RebeccaAotearoa New Zealand’s waterways are valued for many reasons. However, nationally, their health has been declining. Animal agriculture is a significant contributor to this decline. The country’s largest farm, Molesworth Station, is managed to safeguard its cultural, conservation, recreation, historical and farming values. For this reason, managers of the station’s farming operation sought information on possible impacts of current animal agriculture on the habitat and water quality of Molesworth’s streams and rivers, and recommendations on monitoring and improving the health of its waterways over time. This thesis found the health of streams and rivers on Molesworth to be good. It provides recommendations on monitoring and management, including areas where action could be taken to address the likely impacts of fine deposited sediment on waterways. Given both the scale of Aotearoa New Zealand’s animal agriculture, and its impact on freshwater quality and habitat, improving the health of waterways will require an increase in pro-environmental behaviour from farmers and will need to be sustained. This thesis also looks beyond Molesworth Station to investigate the influence of basic human values on pro- environmental behaviour in Aotearoa New Zealand’s agricultural sector. It suggests that prioritisation and priming of certain basic human values are likely to suppress pro- environmental behaviour and posits that targeted values-sensitive communication could play a role in encouraging and increasing pro-environmental behaviour to meet the challenge of improving the health of waterways on agricultural land.Item New Zealand's food system is unsustainable : a survey of the divergent attitudes of agriculture, environment and health sector professionals towards eating guidelines : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Jones, RebekahBackground: The United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) address the adverse health and environmental changes associated with changes in the food and nutrition system. In one of its many sustainable development initiatives, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) has called for sustainable diets, which align with SDG 2, Zero Hunger, and SDG 12, Sustainable Consumption and Production. The inclusion of sustainability characteristics in New Zealand’s (NZ) eating and activity guidelines (EAGs) would contribute to directly addressing the SDGs and lead to achieving sustainable diets. This study aimed to evaluate the agreement among sectoral professionals of including sustainability characteristics within the guidelines. Methods: Professionals within the agriculture, environment and health sectors were invited to complete an online survey to establish agreement with sustainability characteristics. Opinion and attitude questions were completed using a 5-item Likert scale. One-way ANOVA analyses were conducted to compare the level of agreement with the inclusion of sustainability statements of the three professional sector groups. A one-way ANCOVA analysis was undertaken to detect a difference in means of the sectoral levels of agreement whilst controlling for covariates. Post-hoc tests were used to determine where the significant differences in opinion lay between the sector groups. Results: Overall, 298 (65% female) respondents completed the survey from the agriculture (37%), environment (22%) and health (41%) sectors. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents were over 35 years and 90% had a tertiary education. Two-thirds (63%) of respondents disagreed with the statement that NZ’s current food system is sustainable; sector respondents from health (77%) and environment (78%) had greater disagreement than agriculture (35%) (P = 0.00). Overall, 77% of respondents agreed that sustainability characteristics should be included in guidelines; with greater agreement from health (90%) and environment (84%) versus agriculture (58%) (P = 0.00). Five sustainability characteristics received unanimously high levels of agreement (> 90%) for inclusion: dietary diversity (97%), sustainable seafood (90.8%), to limit processed foods (90.7%), reduced food waste (95.3%) and sustainable lifestyle behaviours (97.2%). Agreement for eight sustainability characteristics was higher for health and environment versus agricultural sector (P < 0.05). There was relatively lower level of agreement from all three sectors, particularly environmental (68.7%), to consume recommended serves of dairy products. Only 38.5% of all respondents agreed with the inclusion of “organic food produce”. Respondents who agreed with the inclusion of sustainability characteristics were more likely to be familiar with the EAGs and to agree NZs current food system is unsustainable. Conclusion: Professionals from the agriculture, environment and health sectors of New Zealand largely support the inclusion of sustainability characteristics within NZ’s EAGs. However, there are areas of divergence that need to be addressed for their successful development and implementation.