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A Combined Offline and Online Algorithm for Real-Time and Long-Term Classification of Sheep Behaviour: Novel Approach for Precision Livestock Farming (2019)
Journal Article
Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Paul, V., Ellis, K. A., Coates, D., Loomba, R., & Kaler, J. (2019). A Combined Offline and Online Algorithm for Real-Time and Long-Term Classification of Sheep Behaviour: Novel Approach for Precision Livestock Farming. Sensors, 19(14), Article 3201. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19143201

Real-time and long-term behavioural monitoring systems in precision livestock farming have huge potential to improve welfare and productivity for the better health of farm animals. However, some of the biggest challenges for long-term monitoring syst... Read More about A Combined Offline and Online Algorithm for Real-Time and Long-Term Classification of Sheep Behaviour: Novel Approach for Precision Livestock Farming.

Technology adoption on farms: Using Normalisation Process Theory to understand sheep farmers’ attitudes and behaviours in relation to using precision technology in flock management (2019)
Journal Article
Kaler, J., & Ruston, A. (2019). Technology adoption on farms: Using Normalisation Process Theory to understand sheep farmers’ attitudes and behaviours in relation to using precision technology in flock management. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 170, Article 104715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104715

Evidence suggests that UK sheep farmers experience lower productivity and profit margins than other livestock sectors and that they do not necessarily know where they gain or lose income from their flocks. More efficient use of precision technology h... Read More about Technology adoption on farms: Using Normalisation Process Theory to understand sheep farmers’ attitudes and behaviours in relation to using precision technology in flock management.

Using lamb sales data to investigate associations between implementation of disease preventive practices and sheep flock performance (2019)
Journal Article
Lima, E., Lovatt, F., Davies, P., & Kaler, J. (2019). Using lamb sales data to investigate associations between implementation of disease preventive practices and sheep flock performance. Animal, 13(11), 2630-2638. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1751731119001058

Although the UK is the largest lamb meat producer in Europe, there are limited data available on sheep flock performance and on how sheep farmers manage their flocks. The aims of this study were to gather evidence on the types of disease control prac... Read More about Using lamb sales data to investigate associations between implementation of disease preventive practices and sheep flock performance.

To prescribe or not to prescribe? A factorial survey to explore veterinarians’ decision making when prescribing antimicrobials to sheep and beef farmers in the UK (2019)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Hudson, C., Lovatt, F., & Kaler, J. (2019). To prescribe or not to prescribe? A factorial survey to explore veterinarians’ decision making when prescribing antimicrobials to sheep and beef farmers in the UK. PLoS ONE, 14(4), Article e0213855. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213855

Resistance to antimicrobials is one of the biggest challenges worldwide for public health. A key strategy for tackling this is ensuring judicious use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine. Whilst there are many studies in human medicine... Read More about To prescribe or not to prescribe? A factorial survey to explore veterinarians’ decision making when prescribing antimicrobials to sheep and beef farmers in the UK.

Using big data in cattle practice (2018)
Journal Article
Hudson, C., Kaler, J., & Down, P. (2018). Using big data in cattle practice. In Practice, 40(9), 396-410. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.k4328

© 2018 BMJ Publishing Group Limited. The concept of big data, associated data sources and analytics is becoming increasingly talked about both in society as a whole and within the livestock industry. This article provides a clinician-focused review o... Read More about Using big data in cattle practice.

Feature selection and comparison of machine learning algorithms in classification of grazing and rumination behaviour in sheep (2018)
Journal Article
Mansbridge, N., Mitsch, J., Bollard, N., Ellis, K., Miguel-Pacheco, G. G., Dottorini, T., & Kaler, J. (2018). Feature selection and comparison of machine learning algorithms in classification of grazing and rumination behaviour in sheep. Sensors, 18(10), Article 3532. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18103532

Grazing and ruminating are the most important behaviours for ruminants, as they spend most of their daily time budget performing these. Continuous surveillance of eating behaviour is an important means for monitoring ruminant health, productivity and... Read More about Feature selection and comparison of machine learning algorithms in classification of grazing and rumination behaviour in sheep.

Application of multiple behaviour change models to identify determinants of farmers’ biosecurity attitudes and behaviours (2018)
Journal Article
Richens, I., Houdmont, J., Wapenaar, W., Shortall, O., Kaler, J., O’Connor, H., & Brennan, M. L. (2018). Application of multiple behaviour change models to identify determinants of farmers’ biosecurity attitudes and behaviours. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2018.04.010

It has been recognised that few cattle farmers undertake biosecurity practices on their farms. Approaches that take into consideration individuals’ preparedness for change, alongside beliefs thought to motivate the enactment of certain behaviours, ma... Read More about Application of multiple behaviour change models to identify determinants of farmers’ biosecurity attitudes and behaviours.

Short- and long-term association between individual levels of milk antibody against Ostertagia ostertagi and first-lactation heifer’s production performances (2018)
Journal Article
Bellet, C., Green, M., Bradley, A., & Kaler, J. (2018). Short- and long-term association between individual levels of milk antibody against Ostertagia ostertagi and first-lactation heifer’s production performances. Veterinary Parasitology, 256, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2018.04.008

It is agreed that exposure of adult dairy cattle to helminths on pasture can negatively affect production performances as milking herd. Young animals, especially replacement heifers, represent the future of a dairy farm and are among the most vulnera... Read More about Short- and long-term association between individual levels of milk antibody against Ostertagia ostertagi and first-lactation heifer’s production performances.

Evaluation of sampling frequency, window size and sensor position for classification of sheep behaviour (2018)
Journal Article
Walton, E., Casey, C., Mitsch, J., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Yan, J., Dottorini, T., …Kaler, J. (2018). Evaluation of sampling frequency, window size and sensor position for classification of sheep behaviour. Royal Society Open Science, 5(2), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171442

Automated behavioural classification and identification through sensors has the potential to improve health and welfare of the animals. Position of a sensor, sampling frequency and window size of segmented signal data has a major impact on classifica... Read More about Evaluation of sampling frequency, window size and sensor position for classification of sheep behaviour.

Sheep farmers’ attitudes to farm inspections and the role of sanctions and rewards as motivation to reduce the prevalence of lameness (2018)
Journal Article
Liu, N. L., Kaler, J., Ferguson, E., O’Kane, H., & Green, L. E. (2018). Sheep farmers’ attitudes to farm inspections and the role of sanctions and rewards as motivation to reduce the prevalence of lameness. Animal Welfare Journal, 27(1), https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.27.1.067

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 make it an offence to allow unnecessary suffering to animals, highlighting that farmers have a duty of care for their animals. Despite this, the current global mean prevalence of lameness in sh... Read More about Sheep farmers’ attitudes to farm inspections and the role of sanctions and rewards as motivation to reduce the prevalence of lameness.

True cowmen and commercial farmers: exploring vets’ and dairy farmers’ contrasting views of ‘good farming’ in relation to biosecurity (2018)
Journal Article
Shortall, O., Sutherland, L., Ruston, A., & Kaler, J. (in press). True cowmen and commercial farmers: exploring vets’ and dairy farmers’ contrasting views of ‘good farming’ in relation to biosecurity. Sociologia Ruralis, https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12205

Responsibility for biosecurity in UK farming is being devolved from government to industry, with a greater emphasis on the veterinarian (vet)-farmer relationship. Although social science has shown that care for animals is part of ‘good farming’, the... Read More about True cowmen and commercial farmers: exploring vets’ and dairy farmers’ contrasting views of ‘good farming’ in relation to biosecurity.

Drivers for precision livestock technology adoption: a study of factors associated with adoption of electronic identification technology by commercial sheep farmers in England and Wales (2018)
Journal Article
Lima, E., Hopkins, T., Gurney, E., Shortall, O., Lovatt, F., Davies, P., …Kaler, J. (2018). Drivers for precision livestock technology adoption: a study of factors associated with adoption of electronic identification technology by commercial sheep farmers in England and Wales. PLoS ONE, 13(1), Article e0190489. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190489

The UK is the largest lamb meat producer in Europe. However, the low profitability of sheep farming sector suggests production efficiency could be improved. Although the use of technologies such as Electronic Identification (EID) tools could allow a... Read More about Drivers for precision livestock technology adoption: a study of factors associated with adoption of electronic identification technology by commercial sheep farmers in England and Wales.

A comparison of the efficacy of three intervention trial types: postal, group, and one-to-one facilitation, prior management and the impact of message framing and repeat messages on the flock prevalence of lameness in sheep (2017)
Journal Article
Grant, C., Kaler, J., Ferguson, E., O’Kane, H., & Green, L. E. (2018). A comparison of the efficacy of three intervention trial types: postal, group, and one-to-one facilitation, prior management and the impact of message framing and repeat messages on the flock prevalence of lameness in sheep. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 149, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.11.013

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three knowledge-transfer intervention trial types (postal, group, one-to-one) to promote best practice to treat sheep with footrot. Further aims were to investigate whether farmer behaviour (... Read More about A comparison of the efficacy of three intervention trial types: postal, group, and one-to-one facilitation, prior management and the impact of message framing and repeat messages on the flock prevalence of lameness in sheep.

A longitudinal study of gastrointestinal parasites in English dairy farms: practices and factors associated with first lactation heifer exposure to Ostertagia ostertagi on pasture (2017)
Journal Article
Bellet, C., Green, M. J., Bradley, A. J., & Kaler, J. (2018). A longitudinal study of gastrointestinal parasites in English dairy farms: practices and factors associated with first lactation heifer exposure to Ostertagia ostertagi on pasture. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(1), https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-12952

The gastrointestinal nematode Ostertagia ostertagi is an important cause of lost production, health, and welfare in cattle. Detailed records were obtained over a 5-yr period (2010–2015) by questionnaires and qualitative interviews to investigate the... Read More about A longitudinal study of gastrointestinal parasites in English dairy farms: practices and factors associated with first lactation heifer exposure to Ostertagia ostertagi on pasture.

Effect of claw horn lesion type and severity at the time of treatment on outcome of lameness in dairy cows (2017)
Journal Article
Miguel-Pacheco, G. G., Thomas, H. J., Huxley, J. N., Newsome, R. F., & Kaler, J. (2017). Effect of claw horn lesion type and severity at the time of treatment on outcome of lameness in dairy cows. Veterinary Journal, 225, 16-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.04.015

Prompt diagnosis and treatment of claw horn lesions in cattle affects the likelihood of recovery; however, it is unknown if the type of lesion influences the likelihood of recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the type, severity... Read More about Effect of claw horn lesion type and severity at the time of treatment on outcome of lameness in dairy cows.

Mathematical modeling of ovine footrot in the UK: the effect of Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum on the disease dynamics (2017)
Journal Article
Atia, J., Monaghan, E., Kaler, J., Purdy, K., Green, L., & Keeling, M. (in press). Mathematical modeling of ovine footrot in the UK: the effect of Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum on the disease dynamics. Epidemics, 21, 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2017.04.001

Dichelobacter nodosus is a virulent, invasive, anaerobic bacterium that is believed to be the causative agent of ovine footrot, an infectious bacterial disease of sheep that causes lameness. Another anaerobe, Fusobacterium necrophorum, has been intim... Read More about Mathematical modeling of ovine footrot in the UK: the effect of Dichelobacter nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum on the disease dynamics.

Exploring expert opinion on the practicality and effectiveness of biosecurity measures on dairy farms in the United Kingdom using choice modeling (2017)
Journal Article
Shortall, O., Green, M., Brennan, M. L., Wapenaar, W., & Kaler, J. (in press). Exploring expert opinion on the practicality and effectiveness of biosecurity measures on dairy farms in the United Kingdom using choice modeling. Journal of Dairy Science, 100(3), https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11435

Biosecurity, defined as a series of measures aiming to stop disease-causing agents entering or leaving an area where farm animals are present, is very important for the continuing economic viability of the United Kingdom dairy sector, and for animal... Read More about Exploring expert opinion on the practicality and effectiveness of biosecurity measures on dairy farms in the United Kingdom using choice modeling.

Exploring attitudes and beliefs towards implementing cattle disease prevention and control measures: a qualitative study with dairy farmers in Great Britain (2016)
Journal Article
Brennan, M. L., Wright, N., Wapenaar, W., Jarratt, S., Hobson-West, P., Richens, I. F., …O’Connor, H. M. (in press). Exploring attitudes and beliefs towards implementing cattle disease prevention and control measures: a qualitative study with dairy farmers in Great Britain. Animals, 6(10), Article 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6100061

Disease prevention and control practices are frequently highlighted as important to ensure the health and welfare of farmed animals, although little is known as to why not many practices are carried out. The aim of this study was to identify the moti... Read More about Exploring attitudes and beliefs towards implementing cattle disease prevention and control measures: a qualitative study with dairy farmers in Great Britain.

Factors influencing veterinary surgeons’ decision-making about dairy cattle vaccination (2016)
Journal Article
Richens, I., Hobson-West, P., Brennan, M. L., Hood, Z., Kaler, J., Green, M., …Wapenaar, W. (in press). Factors influencing veterinary surgeons’ decision-making about dairy cattle vaccination. Veterinary Record, 179(16), https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.103822

The use of vaccines in the cattle industry is widespread; however, there is limited published guidance for use by decision-makers such as farmers and vets. To best support vets in advising dairy farmers on the optimisation of vaccination strategies,... Read More about Factors influencing veterinary surgeons’ decision-making about dairy cattle vaccination.

Ostertagia spp., rumen fluke and liver fluke single- and poly-infections in cattle: an abattoir study of prevalence and production impacts in England and Wales (2016)
Journal Article
Bellet, C., Green, M. J., Vickers, M., Forbes, A., Berry, J., & Kaler, J. (in press). Ostertagia spp., rumen fluke and liver fluke single- and poly-infections in cattle: an abattoir study of prevalence and production impacts in England and Wales. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.08.010

This study aims at investigating the occurrence, risk factors and production impacts on beef carcassparameters of three of the most important cattle helminth infections in England and Wales. Abomasa, reticulorumens and livers from healthy cattle were... Read More about Ostertagia spp., rumen fluke and liver fluke single- and poly-infections in cattle: an abattoir study of prevalence and production impacts in England and Wales.