Understanding the gaps in the adoption of animal care practices in Canada

Welfare issues such as lameness and body injuries (LBI) negatively impact health, productivity, and longevity of dairy cows. Despite research, regulatory and outreach efforts, the current prevalence of LBI is high in Canada and shows little evidence of improvement. The proposed study will use an integrated, structured approach to identify gaps influencing the adoption of on-farm practices for control of LBI from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Our methodology comprises 4 steps, each providing groundwork for the following: 1) Knowledge Synthesis will provide insights into Canada’s current situation of LBI and evidence of change throughout time; 2) Questionnaire administered to industry stakeholders (producers, advisors, milk processors, policy-makers, consumers) will investigate perceptions, needs and actions towards LBI; 3) Focus Groups will provide insights into stakeholders’ perceived role and barriers in adopting changes to improve LBI; and 4) knowledge gathered in steps 1-3 will create a platform to develop a plan for Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) to support future extension efforts. Our study will be the first to engage a wide variety of dairy industry stakeholders nationwide to explore factors impacting their perceptions towards LBI and towards change. The outcome will be used to tailor KTT tools applicable to dairy farmers throughout Canada.

Faculty Supervisor:

Daniel Weary

Student:

Laura Marcela Solano Quesada

Partner:

Lactanet

Discipline:

Food science

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

University of British Columbia