What can we learn from farmers experiences and attitudes to Selective Dry Cow Therapy?

Blanket Dry Cow Therapy (BDCT) has been widely accepted by UK Dairy farmers since the adoption of the 5-point plan. The use of antibiotics in non-infected cows has brought into focus with concerns regarding antibiotic resistance and the global priority to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Selective Dry Cow therapy (SDCT) has recently gained momentum in the UK. A Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.co.uk) review of 497 farmers' attitudes towards SDCT is discussed. The survey revealed that 82% of farmers believed that reducing antibiotic usage would be good for their livestock but 55% feared that SDCT would result in death or mastitis without antibiotic use. Sixteen per cent had experienced severe mastitis and death of cows respectively after infusion of teat sealant alone. Fifty one percent of farmers were firm believers and would recommend SDCT to another farmer. However, the Net Promoter Score revealed there were more detractors (48%) than promoters (26%) indicating that without external support and encouragement the programme may fail if relying on farmer recommendation alone. Division of the farmers into 3 groups-Proactivists, Unconcerned and Disillusionists revealed that the requirements to engage each group differed. Proactivists were interested in training and vet support whereas the other two groups required more convincing that SDCT would work and the benefits outweighed the risks. In the Netherlands, a more structured approach was used to influence farmer behaviour and deploy SDCT. Alternative veterinary practiced driven programmes have been used to achieve the same effect. The paper aims to utilise feedback from 497 farmers to help inform opinion on how the UK could progress SDCT more effectively in the future based on the analysis of farmer experiences and attitudes to SDCT.