Farmer, Farm Advisor and Consumer Understandings and Responses to Endemic Livestock Disease in the UK, 2019-2022

Holloway, Lewis and Proctor, Amy and Clark, Beth and Mahon, Niamh (2025). Farmer, Farm Advisor and Consumer Understandings and Responses to Endemic Livestock Disease in the UK, 2019-2022. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-858066

Farm-level interdisciplinary approaches to endemic livestock disease or FIELD (https://field-wt.co.uk/) was a five-year interdisciplinary project funded by the Wellcome Trust (2018-2023). It brought together a team of social scientists, historians, economists and epidemiologists to research how livestock disease is influenced by nature and culture, science and society, and the actions of humans and livestock.

FIELD specifically examined endemic diseases, defined as those which are continually present in particular regions or populations. We focused on two common examples in Britain: Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in cows, and lameness in sheep and cattle. These conditions cannot be caught by humans, but they do have an impact on animal health, welfare and production. FIELD considered their past, present and likely future impacts, asking if they could be managed better, and if so, how?

Data description (abstract)

Farm-level interdisciplinary approaches to endemic livestock disease or FIELD (https://field-wt.co.uk/) was a five-year interdisciplinary project funded by the Wellcome Trust (2018-2023).
The data archived here includes the social science strand of the research. Specifically, qualitative and quantitative research with farmers, their advisors and consumers conducted between 2018-2022. The aims of this research were:

- to investigate how farmers and their advisors understand and respond to endemic livestock disease, their current lameness and BVD management practices and the barriers and enablers of recommended practice through a Farmer survey, farmer focus groups and farmer and advisor interviews:

- to gain a better understanding of the variation in public attitudes towards farm animal welfare and health, and in particular, endemic livestock disease through a consumer survey and consumer focus groups.

Data creators: