Sustainable intensification of UK livestock production: a social scientific approach

This research will focus on the human factors that influence the management of diseases in domestic livestock. Specifically, it will analyse how and why livestock farmers make their decisions (usually in collaboration with advisors and in response to government regulation), how this affects disease control and, more widely, farm productivity and competitiveness, acceptance of agricultural innovation, and adoption of new technologies. Work will focus on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and the opportunities and obstacles faced by government and farm advisors in communicating risk and encouraging change. This is an important case study: the incidence of bTB in England and Wales has been rising since the mid-1980s, the area in which bTB is considered 'endemic' has gradually expanded, and the cost of dealing with bTB is considerable to both taxpayers and livestock farmers. Further, bTB is a complex and highly politicised disease, making it important to explore social as well as scientific factors that influence the spread of disease and decisions regarding its management. The research will examine existing evidence of the opportunities and obstacles faced by government, advisors and farmers; identify and study successful examples of good communication of effective disease management practices; examine in detail the chain and methods of communication; and present the findings to government and the farming industry. The results will identify effective communication methods and disease management approaches that can be implemented in government policy and more successfully accessed and adopted by farmers.