Outputs (78)

Quantification of play behaviour in farmed calves using automated ultra-wide band location data and its association with age, weaning and health status (2024)
Journal Article
Vázquez-Diosdado, J., Doidge, C., Bushby, E., Occhiuto, F., & Kaler, J. (2024). Quantification of play behaviour in farmed calves using automated ultra-wide band location data and its association with age, weaning and health status. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 8872

Play behaviour can act as an indicator of positive animal welfare. Previous attempts to predict play behaviour in farmed calves are limited because of the classification methods used, which lead to overestimation, and the short time periods that calv... Read More about Quantification of play behaviour in farmed calves using automated ultra-wide band location data and its association with age, weaning and health status.

The tales of contradiction: A thematic analysis of British sheep farmers’ perceptions of managing sheep scab in their flocks (2024)
Journal Article
Smith, A. E. O., Doidge, C., Knific, T., Lovatt, F., & Kaler, J. (2024). The tales of contradiction: A thematic analysis of British sheep farmers’ perceptions of managing sheep scab in their flocks. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 227, Article 106194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106194

Sheep scab is endemic in Great Britain with an estimated national herd-level prevalence of 10.9% from a surveyed population of sheep farms. Previous studies have investigated how sheep farmers manage sheep scab on their farms in Great Britain, but th... Read More about The tales of contradiction: A thematic analysis of British sheep farmers’ perceptions of managing sheep scab in their flocks.

A qualitative survey approach to investigating beef and dairy veterinarians’ needs in relation to technologies on farms (2024)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Burrell, A., van Schaik, G., & Kaler, J. (2024). A qualitative survey approach to investigating beef and dairy veterinarians’ needs in relation to technologies on farms. Animal, 18(4), Article 101124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101124

Globally, farmers are being increasingly encouraged to use technologies. Consequently, veterinarians often use farm data and technologies to provide farmers with advice. Yet very few studies have sought to understand veterinarians’ perceptions of dat... Read More about A qualitative survey approach to investigating beef and dairy veterinarians’ needs in relation to technologies on farms.

A living lab approach to understanding dairy farmers' needs of technologies and data to improve herd health: Focus groups from 6 European countries (2024)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Ånestad, L. M., Burrell, A., Frössling, J., Palczynski, L., Pardon, B., …Kaler, J. (in press). A living lab approach to understanding dairy farmers' needs of technologies and data to improve herd health: Focus groups from 6 European countries. Journal of Dairy Science, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24155

For successful development and adoption of technology on dairy farms, farmers need to be included in the innovation process. However, the design of agricultural technologies usually takes a top-down approach with little involvement of end-users at th... Read More about A living lab approach to understanding dairy farmers' needs of technologies and data to improve herd health: Focus groups from 6 European countries.

Quantification of the effect of in-utero events on lifetime resilience in dairy cows (2024)
Journal Article
Lewis, K., Shewbridge Carter, L., Bradley, A., Dewhurst, R., Forde, N., Hyde, R., …Green, M. (2024). Quantification of the effect of in-utero events on lifetime resilience in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-24215

Currently, the dairy industry is facing many challenges that could affect its sustainability, including climate change and public perception of the industry. As a result, interest is increasing in the concept of identifying resilient animals, those w... Read More about Quantification of the effect of in-utero events on lifetime resilience in dairy cows.

Novel enrichment reduces boredom-associated behaviours in housed dairy cows (2024)
Journal Article
Russell, A. L., Randall, L. V., Eyre, N., Kaler, J., & Green, M. J. (2024). Novel enrichment reduces boredom-associated behaviours in housed dairy cows. JDS Communications, https://doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2023-0475

There is currently societal interest and concern for dairy cow welfare. It has been suggested that boredom poses a welfare issue for dairy cows, particularly when presented with extended disposable time in housed environments that lack stimuli. Farm... Read More about Novel enrichment reduces boredom-associated behaviours in housed dairy cows.

Evidence of personality-dependent plasticity in dairy calf movement behaviours derived from automated data collection (2023)
Journal Article
Occhiuto, F., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., King, A. J., & Kaler, J. (2023). Evidence of personality-dependent plasticity in dairy calf movement behaviours derived from automated data collection. Scientific Reports, 13, Article 18243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44957-z

Individual consistency in behaviour, known as animal personality, and behavioural plasticity in response to environmental changes are important factors shaping individual behaviour. Correlations between them, called personality-dependent plasticity,... Read More about Evidence of personality-dependent plasticity in dairy calf movement behaviours derived from automated data collection.

Exploring the data divide through a social practice lens: A qualitative study of UK cattle farmers (2023)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Palczynski, L., Zhou, X., Bearth, A., van Schaik, G., & Kaler, J. (2023). Exploring the data divide through a social practice lens: A qualitative study of UK cattle farmers. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 220, Article 106030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.106030

Appropriate management decisions are key for sustainable and profitable beef and dairy farming. Data-driven technologies aim to provide information which can improve farmers’ decision-making practices. However, data-driven technologies have resulted... Read More about Exploring the data divide through a social practice lens: A qualitative study of UK cattle farmers.

Incorporating heterogeneity in farmer disease control behaviour into a livestock disease transmission model (2023)
Journal Article
Hill, E. M., Prosser, N. S., Brown, P. E., Ferguson, E., Green, M. J., Kaler, J., …Tildesley, M. J. (2023). Incorporating heterogeneity in farmer disease control behaviour into a livestock disease transmission model. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 219, Article 106019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.106019

Human behaviour is critical to effective responses to livestock disease outbreaks, especially with respect to vaccination uptake. Traditionally, mathematical models used to inform this behaviour have not taken heterogeneity in farmer behaviour into a... Read More about Incorporating heterogeneity in farmer disease control behaviour into a livestock disease transmission model.

Social and ethical implications of data and technology use on farms: a qualitative study of Swedish dairy and pig farmers (2023)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Frössling, J., C. Dórea, F., Ordell, A., Vidal, G., & Kaler, J. (2023). Social and ethical implications of data and technology use on farms: a qualitative study of Swedish dairy and pig farmers. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10, Article 1171107. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1171107

Introduction: Livestock farmers are being increasingly encouraged to adopt digital health technologies on their farms. Digital innovations may have unintended consequences, but there tends to be a pro-innovation bias in previous literature. This... Read More about Social and ethical implications of data and technology use on farms: a qualitative study of Swedish dairy and pig farmers.

A multistate modeling approach to investigate long-term effects of claw horn disruption lesions and early lesion development in dairy cows (2023)
Journal Article
Thomas, M., Green, M., Kypraios, T., & Kaler, J. (2023). A multistate modeling approach to investigate long-term effects of claw horn disruption lesions and early lesion development in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21749

Claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL) are a leading cause of lameness in dairy cattle, and the development, effect, and pathology of these lesions remains an open area of interest within dairy cattle health. Current literature typically attempts to mea... Read More about A multistate modeling approach to investigate long-term effects of claw horn disruption lesions and early lesion development in dairy cows.

Use of qualitative behavioural assessment to investigate affective states of housed dairy cows under different environmental conditions (2023)
Journal Article
Russell, A. L., Randall, L. V., Kaler, J., Eyre, N., & Green, M. J. (2023). Use of qualitative behavioural assessment to investigate affective states of housed dairy cows under different environmental conditions. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10, Article 1099170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1099170

In addition to the reduction of suboptimal welfare, there is now a need to provide farmed animals with positive opportunities to provide confidence that they have experienced a life worth living. Diversification of the environment through environment... Read More about Use of qualitative behavioural assessment to investigate affective states of housed dairy cows under different environmental conditions.

Familiarity, age, weaning and health status impact social proximity networks in dairy calves (2023)
Journal Article
Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Occhiuto, F., Carslake, C., & Kaler, J. (2023). Familiarity, age, weaning and health status impact social proximity networks in dairy calves. Scientific Reports, 13, Article 2275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29309-1

Social network analysis in dairy calves has not been widely studied, with previous studies limited by the short study duration, and low number of animals and replicates. In this study, we investigated social proximity interactions of 79 Holstein–Frie... Read More about Familiarity, age, weaning and health status impact social proximity networks in dairy calves.

Assessment of a joint farmer-veterinarian discussion about biosecurity using novel social interaction analyses (2022)
Journal Article
Chomyn, O., Wapenaar, W., Richens, I. F., Reyneke, R. A., Shortall, O., Kaler, J., & Brennan, M. L. (2023). Assessment of a joint farmer-veterinarian discussion about biosecurity using novel social interaction analyses. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 212, Article 105831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2022.105831

Veterinarians are trusted by farmers and play an important role in assisting them to implement biosecurity. More research is needed that particularly focuses on the impact of joint farmer-veterinarian discussions to further understand the role of com... Read More about Assessment of a joint farmer-veterinarian discussion about biosecurity using novel social interaction analyses.

Indication of a personality trait in dairy calves and its link to weight gain through automatically collected feeding behaviours (2022)
Journal Article
Carslake, C., Occhiuto, F., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., & Kaler, J. (2022). Indication of a personality trait in dairy calves and its link to weight gain through automatically collected feeding behaviours. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 19425. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24076-x

Farm animal personality traits are of interest since they can help predict individual variation in behaviour and productivity. However, personality traits are currently inferred using behavioural tests which are impractical outside of research settin... Read More about Indication of a personality trait in dairy calves and its link to weight gain through automatically collected feeding behaviours.

Dissecting microbial communities and resistomes for interconnected humans, soil, and livestock (2022)
Journal Article
Maciel-Guerra, A., Baker, M., Hu, Y., Wang, W., Zhang, X., Rong, J., …Dottorini, T. (2023). Dissecting microbial communities and resistomes for interconnected humans, soil, and livestock. ISME Journal, 17, 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-022-01315-7

A debate is currently ongoing as to whether intensive livestock farms may constitute reservoirs of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance (AMR), thus posing a threat to surrounding communities. Here, combining shotgun metagenome sequencing, mac... Read More about Dissecting microbial communities and resistomes for interconnected humans, soil, and livestock.

Understanding public preferences for different dairy farming systems using a mixed-methods approach (2022)
Journal Article
Jackson, A., Doidge, C., Green, M., & Kaler, J. (2022). Understanding public preferences for different dairy farming systems using a mixed-methods approach. Journal of Dairy Science, 105(9), 7492-7512. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-21829

Global production of milk has doubled over the past 50 yr, yet dairy farming in high-income countries faces scrutiny over practices perceived to affect animal welfare. One such practice is housing dairy cows year-round without access to pasture, whic... Read More about Understanding public preferences for different dairy farming systems using a mixed-methods approach.

Descriptive analysis of national bovine viral diarrhoea test data in England (2016–2020) (2022)
Journal Article
Prosser, N. S., Hill, E. M., Armstrong, D., Gow, L., Tildesley, M. J., Keeling, M. J., …Green, M. J. (2022). Descriptive analysis of national bovine viral diarrhoea test data in England (2016–2020). Veterinary Record, 191(5), Article e1854. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.1854

Background: Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) causes substantial economic losses to the cattle industry; however, control and eradication can be achieved by identifying and removing persistently infected cattle from the herd. Each UK nation has sep... Read More about Descriptive analysis of national bovine viral diarrhoea test data in England (2016–2020).

Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour (2022)
Journal Article
Hill, E. M., Prosser, N. S., Ferguson, E., Kaler, J., Green, M. J., Keeling, M. J., & Tildesley, M. J. (2022). Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour. PLoS Computational Biology, 18(7), Article e1010235. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010235

The spread of infection amongst livestock depends not only on the traits of the pathogen and the livestock themselves, but also on the veterinary health behaviours of farmers and how this impacts their implementation of disease control measures. Cont... Read More about Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour.

Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour. (2022)
Journal Article
Hill, E. M., Prosser, N. S., Ferguson, E., Kaler, J., Green, M. J., Keeling, M. J., & Tildesley, M. J. (2022). Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour. PLoS Computational Biology, 18(7), Article e1010235. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010235

Background: The spread of infection amongst livestock depends not only on the traits of the pathogen and the livestock themselves, but also on the behavioural characteristics of farmers and how that impacts the implementation of livestock disease con... Read More about Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour..

Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by ultra-wideband sensors (2022)
Journal Article
Occhiuto, F., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Carslake, C., & Kaler, J. (2022). Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by ultra-wideband sensors. Royal Society Open Science, 9(6), Article 212019. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.212019

Individuals within a population often show consistent between individual differences in their average behavioural expression (personality), and consistent differences in their within-individual variability of behaviour around the mean (predictability... Read More about Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by ultra-wideband sensors.

Repeatability and Predictability of Calf Feeding Behaviors—Quantifying Between- and Within-Individual Variation for Precision Livestock Farming (2022)
Journal Article
Carslake, C., Occhiuto, F., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., & Kaler, J. (2022). Repeatability and Predictability of Calf Feeding Behaviors—Quantifying Between- and Within-Individual Variation for Precision Livestock Farming. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, Article 827124. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.827124

Individual calves show substantial between- and within-individual variation in their feeding behavior, the existence and extent of which are not fully researched. In this study, 57,196 feeding records, collected by a computerized milk feeder from 48... Read More about Repeatability and Predictability of Calf Feeding Behaviors—Quantifying Between- and Within-Individual Variation for Precision Livestock Farming.

A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of indoor living space on dairy cow production, reproduction and behaviour (2022)
Journal Article
Thompson, J. S., Hudson, C. D., Huxley, J. N., Kaler, J., Robinson, R. S., Woad, K. J., …Green, M. J. (2022). A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of indoor living space on dairy cow production, reproduction and behaviour. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 3849. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07826-9

As a global society, we have a duty to provide suitable care and conditions for farmed livestock to protect animal welfare and ensure the sustainability of our food supply. The suitability and biological impacts of housing conditions for intensively... Read More about A randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of indoor living space on dairy cow production, reproduction and behaviour.

Cattle farmer psychosocial profiles and their association with control strategies for bovine viral diarrhea (2022)
Journal Article
Prosser, N. S., Green, M. J., Ferguson, E., Tildesley, M. J., Hill, E. M., Keeling, M. J., & Kaler, J. (2022). Cattle farmer psychosocial profiles and their association with control strategies for bovine viral diarrhea. Journal of Dairy Science, 105(4), 3559-3573. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21386

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is endemic in the United Kingdom and causes major economic losses. Control is largely voluntary for individual farmers and is likely to be influenced by psychosocial factors, such as altruism, trust, and psychological prox... Read More about Cattle farmer psychosocial profiles and their association with control strategies for bovine viral diarrhea.

Genome-Scale Metabolic Models and Machine Learning Reveal Genetic Determinants of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli and Unravel the Underlying Metabolic Adaptation Mechanisms (2021)
Journal Article
Pearcy, N., Hu, Y., Baker, M., Maciel-Guerra, A., Xue, N., Wang, W., …Dottorini, T. (2021). Genome-Scale Metabolic Models and Machine Learning Reveal Genetic Determinants of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli and Unravel the Underlying Metabolic Adaptation Mechanisms. mSystems, 6(4), Article e00913-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00913-20

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming one of the largest threats to public health worldwide, with the opportunistic pathogen Escherichia coli playing a major role in the AMR global health crisis. Unravelling the complex interplay between drug re... Read More about Genome-Scale Metabolic Models and Machine Learning Reveal Genetic Determinants of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli and Unravel the Underlying Metabolic Adaptation Mechanisms.

From the other perspective: Behavioural factors associated with UK sheep farmers’ attitudes towards antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance (2021)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Lima, E., Lovatt, F., Hudson, C., & Kaler, J. (2021). From the other perspective: Behavioural factors associated with UK sheep farmers’ attitudes towards antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. PLoS ONE, 16(5), Article e0251439. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251439

Research suggests that many sheep farmers continue to carry out traditional antibiotic use practices despite new’good practice’ recommendations. The aim of this study was to group farmers depending on their attitudes around antibiotic use and antibio... Read More about From the other perspective: Behavioural factors associated with UK sheep farmers’ attitudes towards antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance.

Lameness Detection in Cows Using Hierarchical Deep Learning and Synchrosqueezed Wavelet Transform (2021)
Journal Article
Jarchi, D., Kaler, J., & Sanei, S. (2021). Lameness Detection in Cows Using Hierarchical Deep Learning and Synchrosqueezed Wavelet Transform. IEEE Sensors Journal, 21(7), 9349-9358. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2021.3054718

Objectives: Identification of cow lameness is important to farmers to improve and manage cattle health and welfare. No validated tools exist for automatic lameness detection. In this research, we aim to early detect the cow lameness by identifying th... Read More about Lameness Detection in Cows Using Hierarchical Deep Learning and Synchrosqueezed Wavelet Transform.

Machine Learning Algorithms to Classify and Quantify Multiple Behaviours in Dairy Calves Using a Sensor: Moving Beyond Classification in Precision Livestock (2020)
Journal Article
Carslake, C., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., & Kaler, J. (2021). Machine Learning Algorithms to Classify and Quantify Multiple Behaviours in Dairy Calves Using a Sensor: Moving Beyond Classification in Precision Livestock. Sensors, 21(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21010088

Previous research has shown that sensors monitoring lying behaviours and feeding can detect early signs of ill health in calves. There is evidence to suggest that monitoring change in a single behaviour might not be enough for disease prediction. In... Read More about Machine Learning Algorithms to Classify and Quantify Multiple Behaviours in Dairy Calves Using a Sensor: Moving Beyond Classification in Precision Livestock.

Understanding farmers' naturalistic decision making around prophylactic antibiotic use in lambs using a grounded theory and natural language processing approach (2020)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Ferguson, E., Lovatt, F., & Kaler, J. (2021). Understanding farmers' naturalistic decision making around prophylactic antibiotic use in lambs using a grounded theory and natural language processing approach. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 186, Article 105226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105226

The routine use of antibiotics for prevention of disease in neonatal lambs has been highlighted as inappropriate, yet research suggests that many farmers in the UK still carry out this practice. The aim of the study was to understand farmers' natural... Read More about Understanding farmers' naturalistic decision making around prophylactic antibiotic use in lambs using a grounded theory and natural language processing approach.

Impact of Flock Health Clubs (2020)
Journal Article
Noble, N., Occhiuto, F., Lovatt, F., Johnson, M., Jones, W., & Kaler, J. (2020). Impact of Flock Health Clubs. Livestock, 25(6), 301-307. https://doi.org/10.12968/live.2020.25.6.301

Sheep farming is an important part of UK agriculture with significantly more breeding females than either the pig or cattle sectors. Whether grazing alongside arable rotations or utilising the marginal uplands, sheep farms arguably play a key role th... Read More about Impact of Flock Health Clubs.

Antimicrobial use practices and opinions of beef farmers in England and Wales (2020)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Hudson, C. D., Burgess, R., Lovatt, F., & Kaler, J. (2020). Antimicrobial use practices and opinions of beef farmers in England and Wales. Veterinary Record, 187(12), e119-e119. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105878

© British Veterinary Association. Background Limited research exists on antimicrobial use practices of beef farmers. This study aimed to investigate antimicrobial practices and perceptions of beef farmers in England and Wales, and identify drivers of... Read More about Antimicrobial use practices and opinions of beef farmers in England and Wales.

Farmers' Perceptions of Preventing Antibiotic Resistance on Sheep and Beef Farms: Risk, Responsibility, and Action (2020)
Journal Article
Doidge, C., Ruston, A., Lovatt, F., Hudson, C., King, L., & Kaler, J. (2020). Farmers' Perceptions of Preventing Antibiotic Resistance on Sheep and Beef Farms: Risk, Responsibility, and Action. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7, Article 524. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00524

© 2020 Doidge, Ruston, Lovatt, Hudson, King and Kaler. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious public health risks facing humanity. The overuse of antibiotics in the treatment of infectious disease have been identified as sources of the... Read More about Farmers' Perceptions of Preventing Antibiotic Resistance on Sheep and Beef Farms: Risk, Responsibility, and Action.

Variable selection for inferential models with relatively high-dimensional data: Between method heterogeneity and covariate stability as adjuncts to robust selection (2020)
Journal Article
Lima, E., Davies, P., Kaler, J., Lovatt, F., & Green, M. (2020). Variable selection for inferential models with relatively high-dimensional data: Between method heterogeneity and covariate stability as adjuncts to robust selection. Scientific Reports, 10, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64829-0

Variable selection in inferential modelling is problematic when the number of variables is large relative to the number of data points, especially when multicollinearity is present. A variety of techniques have been described to identify ‘important’... Read More about Variable selection for inferential models with relatively high-dimensional data: Between method heterogeneity and covariate stability as adjuncts to robust selection.

Influencing Change: When “Best Practice” Changes and the Prototypical Good Farmer Turns Bad (2020)
Journal Article
Green, L., Kaler, J., Liu, N., & Ferguson, E. (2020). Influencing Change: When “Best Practice” Changes and the Prototypical Good Farmer Turns Bad. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7, Article 161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00161

Twenty-nine farmers with a flock prevalence of lameness >5% were visited in 2013. They participated in a facilitated discussion on treatment of footrot, and evidence-based new “best practice.” One year later, farmers were revisited and management and... Read More about Influencing Change: When “Best Practice” Changes and the Prototypical Good Farmer Turns Bad.

Is it just about grazing? UK citizens have diverse preferences for how dairy cows should be managed (2020)
Journal Article
Jackson, A., Green, M., Millar, K., & Kaler, J. (2020). Is it just about grazing? UK citizens have diverse preferences for how dairy cows should be managed. Journal of Dairy Science, 103(4), 3250-3263. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17111

© 2020 American Dairy Science Association Conflicting views between the dairy industry and the public about how dairy cows should be managed, together with an increase in the availability of alternatives to dairy foods, challenge future markets for m... Read More about Is it just about grazing? UK citizens have diverse preferences for how dairy cows should be managed.

Field survey to evaluate space allowances for dairy cows in Great Britain (2020)
Journal Article
Thompson, J. S., Huxley, J. N., Hudson, C. D., Kaler, J., Gibbons, J., & Green, M. J. (2020). Field survey to evaluate space allowances for dairy cows in Great Britain. Journal of Dairy Science, 103(4), 3745-3759. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17004

© 2020 American Dairy Science Association Housing conditions can affect health of cows by increasing exposure to biological, chemical, and physical hazards, resulting in increased disease. A report in 2014 indicated that 99% of UK dairy cows are hous... Read More about Field survey to evaluate space allowances for dairy cows in Great Britain.

Automated detection of lameness in sheep using machine learning approaches: novel insights into behavioural differences among lame and non-lame sheep (2020)
Journal Article
Kaler, J., Mitsch, J., Vázquez-Diosdado, J. A., Bollard, N., Dottorini, T., & Ellis, K. A. (2020). Automated detection of lameness in sheep using machine learning approaches: novel insights into behavioural differences among lame and non-lame sheep. Royal Society Open Science, 7(1), Article 190824. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190824

Lameness in sheep is the biggest cause of concern regarding poor health and welfare among sheep producing countries. Best practice for lameness relies on rapid treatment, yet there are no objective measures of lameness detection. Use of accelerometer... Read More about Automated detection of lameness in sheep using machine learning approaches: novel insights into behavioural differences among lame and non-lame sheep.

Koala retrovirus viral load and disease burden in distinct northern and southern koala populations (2020)
Journal Article
Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Owen, H., Seddon, J., Simmons, G., Speight, N., …Tarlinton, R. E. (2020). Koala retrovirus viral load and disease burden in distinct northern and southern koala populations. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 263. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56546-0

Koala retrovirus (KoRV) displays features of both an endogenous and exogenous virus and is linked to neoplasia and immunosuppression in koalas. This study explores the apparent differences in the nature and impact of KoRV infection between geographic... Read More about Koala retrovirus viral load and disease burden in distinct northern and southern koala populations.

Environmental and field characteristics associated with lameness in sheep: a study using a smartphone lameness app for data recording (2019)
Journal Article
Vittis, Y., & Kaler, J. (2019). Environmental and field characteristics associated with lameness in sheep: a study using a smartphone lameness app for data recording. Veterinary Record, https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105476

Background: Sheep lameness is a major concern among farmers and policymakers with significant impacts on animal welfare standards as well as financial and production performance. The present study attempts to identify the relative importance of envir... Read More about Environmental and field characteristics associated with lameness in sheep: a study using a smartphone lameness app for data recording.

Best practice versus farm practice: Perspectives of lecturers and students at agricultural colleges in England on management of lameness in sheep (2019)
Journal Article
Clifton, R., Reeves, M. C., Kaler, J., & Green, L. E. (2019). Best practice versus farm practice: Perspectives of lecturers and students at agricultural colleges in England on management of lameness in sheep. Journal of Rural Studies, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.11.014

We use the concepts of trust and knowledge to explore translation of scientific evidence about treatment of ovine footrot to students studying at agricultural colleges. We explore the role of different forms of trust (companion, competence and commit... Read More about Best practice versus farm practice: Perspectives of lecturers and students at agricultural colleges in England on management of lameness in sheep.

Use of bootstrapped, regularised regression to identify factors associated with lamb-derived revenue on commercial sheep farms (2019)
Journal Article
Lima, E., Green, M., Lovatt, F., Davies, P., King, L., & Kaler, J. (2020). Use of bootstrapped, regularised regression to identify factors associated with lamb-derived revenue on commercial sheep farms. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 174, Article 104851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104851

The profitability of UK sheep farms is variable with many farms making a net loss. For economic sustainability, farms have to be profitable, therefore it is important to maximise income whilst controlling costs. The most important source of income in... Read More about Use of bootstrapped, regularised regression to identify factors associated with lamb-derived revenue on commercial sheep farms.

Sustainable lamb production: Evaluation of factors affecting lamb growth using hierarchical, cross classified and multiple memberships models (2019)
Journal Article
Lima, E., Lovatt, F., Green, M., Roden, J., Davies, P., & Kaler, J. (2020). Sustainable lamb production: Evaluation of factors affecting lamb growth using hierarchical, cross classified and multiple memberships models. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 174, Article 104822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2019.104822

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. In light of current concerns about the sustainability of red meat production in a world with increasing global demand for food from animal origin there is a need for a better understanding of factors that influence the growth rat... Read More about Sustainable lamb production: Evaluation of factors affecting lamb growth using hierarchical, cross classified and multiple memberships models.

Developing and evaluating threshold-based algorithms to detect drinking behavior in dairy cows using reticulorumen temperature (2019)
Journal Article
Vázquez-Diosdado, J., Miguel-Pacheco, G., Plant, B., Dottorini, T., Green, M., & Kaler, J. (2019). Developing and evaluating threshold-based algorithms to detect drinking behavior in dairy cows using reticulorumen temperature. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(11), 10471-10482. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-16442

© 2019 American Dairy Science Association In this study, we assessed for the first time the use of a reticuloruminal temperature bolus and a thresholding method to detect drinking events and investigated different factors that can affect drinking beh... Read More about Developing and evaluating threshold-based algorithms to detect drinking behavior in dairy cows using reticulorumen temperature.

Genetic diversity of Koala retrovirus env gene subtypes: insights into northern and southern koala populations (2019)
Journal Article
Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Seddon, J., Tarlinton, R., Owen, H., Simmons, G., …Meers, J. (2019). Genetic diversity of Koala retrovirus env gene subtypes: insights into northern and southern koala populations. Journal of General Virology, 100(9), 1328-1339. https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.001304

Koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a recently endogenised retrovirus associated with neoplasia and immunosuppression in koala populations. The virus is known to display sequence variability and to be present at varying prevalence in different populations, wi... Read More about Genetic diversity of Koala retrovirus env gene subtypes: insights into northern and southern koala populations.

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.

Associations between sheep farmer attitudes, beliefs, emotions and personality, and their barriers to uptake of best practice: the example of footrot (2016)
Journal Article
O’Kane, H., Ferguson, E., Kaler, J., & Green, L. (2017). Associations between sheep farmer attitudes, beliefs, emotions and personality, and their barriers to uptake of best practice: the example of footrot. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 139, 123-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.05.009

There is interest in understanding how farmers’ behaviour influences their management of livestock. We extend the theory of planned behaviour with farmers attitudes, beliefs, emotions and personality to investigate how these are associated with manag... Read More about Associations between sheep farmer attitudes, beliefs, emotions and personality, and their barriers to uptake of best practice: the example of footrot.

Factors associated with the presence and prevalence of contagious ovine digital dermatitis: a 2013 study of 1136 random English sheep flocks (2016)
Journal Article
Dickins, A., Clark, C. C., Kaler, J., Ferguson, E., O’Kane, H., & Green, L. E. (2016). Factors associated with the presence and prevalence of contagious ovine digital dermatitis: a 2013 study of 1136 random English sheep flocks. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 130, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.06.009

In 2013, a questionnaire was used to gather data on risks for introduction, and factors associated with prevalence, of contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD). There were 1136 (28.4%) usable responses from 4000 randomly selected sheep farmers in E... Read More about Factors associated with the presence and prevalence of contagious ovine digital dermatitis: a 2013 study of 1136 random English sheep flocks.

Broken biosecurity?: veterinarians’ framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England (2016)
Journal Article
Shortall, O., Ruston, A., Green, M. J., Brennan, M. L., Wapenaar, W., & Kaler, J. (2016). Broken biosecurity?: veterinarians’ framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 132, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.06.001

There is seen to be a need for better biosecurity – the control of disease spread on and off farm – in the dairy sector. Veterinarians play a key role in communicating and implementing biosecurity measures on farm, and little research has been carrie... Read More about Broken biosecurity?: veterinarians’ framing of biosecurity on dairy farms in England.

Effects of lameness treatment for claw horn lesions on lying behaviour in dairy cows (2016)
Journal Article
Miguel-Pacheco, G. G., Thomas, H. J., Kaler, J., Craigon, J., & Huxley, J. N. (2016). Effects of lameness treatment for claw horn lesions on lying behaviour in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 179, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.04.001

Lameness affects lying behaviour in dairy cattle, increasing total lying time and the number of lying bouts. However, there is limited information about the effect of lameness treatment on dairy cow behaviour. This study investigated the effect of fo... Read More about Effects of lameness treatment for claw horn lesions on lying behaviour in dairy cows.

Challenges facing the farm animal veterinary profession in England: a qualitative study of veterinarians’ perceptions and responses (2016)
Journal Article
Ruston, A., Shortall, O., Green, M. J., Brennan, M. L., Wapenaar, W., & Kaler, J. (2016). Challenges facing the farm animal veterinary profession in England: a qualitative study of veterinarians’ perceptions and responses. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.03.008

The farm animal veterinary profession in the UK has faced a number of challenges in recent decades related to the withdrawal of government funding and a contraction of the agricultural sector. They have come under pressure to respond by developing sk... Read More about Challenges facing the farm animal veterinary profession in England: a qualitative study of veterinarians’ perceptions and responses.

Farmers’ perception of the role of veterinary surgeons in vaccination strategies on British dairy farms (2015)
Journal Article
Richens, I., Hobson-West, P., Brennan, M. L., Lowton, R., Kaler, J., & Wapenaar, W. (in press). Farmers’ perception of the role of veterinary surgeons in vaccination strategies on British dairy farms. Veterinary Record, 177(18), https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.103415

There is limited research investigating the motivators and barriers to vaccinating dairy cattle. Veterinary surgeons have been identified as important sources of information for farmers making vaccination and disease control decisions, as well as bei... Read More about Farmers’ perception of the role of veterinary surgeons in vaccination strategies on British dairy farms.

Changes in prevalence of, and risk factors for, lameness in random samples of English sheep flocks: 2004–2013 (2015)
Journal Article
Winter, J. R., Kaler, J., Ferguson, E., KilBride, A. L., & Green, L. E. (2015). Changes in prevalence of, and risk factors for, lameness in random samples of English sheep flocks: 2004–2013. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 122(1-2), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.09.014

The aims of this study were to update the prevalence of lameness in sheep in England and identify novel risk factors. A total of 1260 sheep farmers responded to a postal survey. The survey captured detailed information on the period prevalence of lam... Read More about Changes in prevalence of, and risk factors for, lameness in random samples of English sheep flocks: 2004–2013.

Preventative services offered by veterinarians on sheep farms in England and Wales: opinions and drivers for proactive flock health planning (2015)
Journal Article
Bellet, C., Woodnutt, J., Green, L. E., & Kaler, J. (2015). Preventative services offered by veterinarians on sheep farms in England and Wales: opinions and drivers for proactive flock health planning. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 122(4), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.07.008

Recent independent UK government reports and studies have highlighted the importance, but lack, of flock health services provided by veterinarians. Qualitative interviews were analysed by thematic analysis to construct belief statements to understand... Read More about Preventative services offered by veterinarians on sheep farms in England and Wales: opinions and drivers for proactive flock health planning.

Unravelling the temporal association between lameness and body condition score in dairy cattle using a multistate modelling approach (2015)
Journal Article
Lim, P., Huxley, J., Willshire, J., Green, M., Othman, A., & Kaler, J. (2015). Unravelling the temporal association between lameness and body condition score in dairy cattle using a multistate modelling approach. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 118(4), 370-377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.12.015

Recent studies have reported associations between lameness and body condition score (BCS) in dairy cattle, however the impact of change in the dynamics of BCS on both lameness occurrence and recovery is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to... Read More about Unravelling the temporal association between lameness and body condition score in dairy cattle using a multistate modelling approach.

Area of hock hair loss in dairy cows : risk factors and correlation to a categorical scale (2015)
Journal Article
Lim, P., Huxley, J., Green, M. J., Othman, A., Potterton, S., Brignell, C., & Kaler, J. (2015). Area of hock hair loss in dairy cows : risk factors and correlation to a categorical scale. Veterinary Journal, 203(2), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.11.005

Data from 3691 dairy cows from 76 farms were used to investigate the risk factors associated with area of hair loss over the lateral aspect of the hock, and the correlation between the area of hair loss as calculated using a hock map and hock lesion... Read More about Area of hock hair loss in dairy cows : risk factors and correlation to a categorical scale.

Differential expression of Toll-like receptors and inflammatory cytokines in ovine interdigital dermatitis and footrot (2014)
Journal Article
Davenport, R., Heawood, C., Sessford, K., Baker, M., Baiker, K., Blacklaws, B., …Tötemeyer, S. (2014). Differential expression of Toll-like receptors and inflammatory cytokines in ovine interdigital dermatitis and footrot. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 161(1-2), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2014.07.007

Behavioural changes in dairy cows with lameness in an automatic milking system (2013)
Journal Article
Miguel-Pacheco, G., Kaler, J., Remnant, J., Cheyne, L., Abbott, C., French, A. P., …Huxley, J. N. (2014). Behavioural changes in dairy cows with lameness in an automatic milking system. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 150, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2013.11.003

There is a tendency worldwide for the automation of farms; this has included the introduction of automatic milking systems (AMS) in the dairy industry. Lameness in dairy cows is highly prevalent and painful. These impacts potentially affect not only... Read More about Behavioural changes in dairy cows with lameness in an automatic milking system.

Sheep farmer opinions on the current and future role of veterinarians in flock health management on sheep farms: a qualitative study (2013)
Journal Article
Kaler, J., & Green, L. (2013). Sheep farmer opinions on the current and future role of veterinarians in flock health management on sheep farms: a qualitative study. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 112(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2013.09.009

A 2009 UK Government report on veterinary expertise in food animal production highlighted that there was insufficient herd health expertise among veterinarians and lack of appropriate business models to deliver veterinary services to the livestock se... Read More about Sheep farmer opinions on the current and future role of veterinarians in flock health management on sheep farms: a qualitative study.

How does reviewing the evidence change veterinary surgeons’ beliefs regarding the treatment of ovine footrot?: a quantitative and qualitative study (2013)
Journal Article
Higgins, H. M., Green, L. E., Green, M. J., & Kaler, J. (2013). How does reviewing the evidence change veterinary surgeons’ beliefs regarding the treatment of ovine footrot?: a quantitative and qualitative study. PLoS ONE, 8(5), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064175

Footrot is a widespread, infectious cause of lameness in sheep, with major economic and welfare costs. The aims of this research were: (i) to quantify how veterinary surgeons’ beliefs regarding the efficacy of two treatments for footrot changed follo... Read More about How does reviewing the evidence change veterinary surgeons’ beliefs regarding the treatment of ovine footrot?: a quantitative and qualitative study.