A multi-methods, multi-actor exploration of the benefits and barriers to milk recording on Irish farms using the COM-B model.

Milk recording is a critical tool in dairy farming, providing individual cow information. When used effectively, this data contributes to on-farm productivity, herd health management decisions and supports prudent veterinary prescribing of antimicrobials. Although an industry and government priority, uptake has been relatively slow in Ireland.

Data Driven Identification of Injury Risk Factors During Expansion on Irish Dairy Farms.

Objectives: This paper sought to determine risk factors of occupational injury in the Irish dairy farming sector and to estimate the roles of both dairying expansion and the discipline of agricultural extension in influencing reducing injury occurrence.

Methods: Data for this study was obtained via the Irish National Farm Survey (NFS). In total, 260 farm (83.

Sleep: the neglected life factor in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Sleep is vital for our physical and mental health. Studies have shown that there is a high prevalence of sleep disorders and sleep difficulties amongst adults with intellectual disabilities. Despite this, sleep is often overlooked or its disorders are considered to be difficult to treat in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Weather, Workload and Money: Determining and Evaluating Sources of Stress for Farmers in Ireland.

The demands of modern farming can place substantial stress upon the farmer, adversely impacting their wellbeing. This study identifies both the prevalence of stress and assesses the demographic, farm, and social characteristics that impact the incidence of stress. We report the results of a survey of a nationally representative sample of farm enterprises in Ireland undertaken in association with the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) in 2018, which saw 736 questionnaires completed by farm operators.

Exploring the relationship between mastitis risk perceptions and farmers' readiness to engage in milk recording.

The need to move towards Selective Dry Cow Therapy (SDCT) has become increasingly pertinent as a means to reduce the use of antibiotics in the dairy sector. With the EU 2022 ban on prophylactic antibiotics at drying off, practices on some farms will need to drastically change. In Ireland, one particular challenge to the sector-wide transition to SDCT is the lack of widespread uptake of milk recording across dairy farms, a decision support tool which can support mastitis control and help identify cows to select for SDCT.

Can technology help achieve sustainable intensification? Evidence from milk recording on Irish dairy farms.

This article explores the potential of a farm technology to simultaneously improve farm efficiency and provide wider environmental and social benefits. Identifying these 'win-win-win' strategies and encouraging their widespread adoption is critical to achieve sustainable intensification. Using a nationally representative sample of 296 Irish dairy farms from 2015, propensity score matching is applied to measure the impact of milk recording on a broad set of farm sustainability indicators.

Potential development of Irish agricultural sustainability indicators for current and future policy evaluation needs.

There is a significant and detailed range of sustainability indicators for Irish agri-food production, but there remain areas where further indicator development or new indicators could prove valuable. This review provides an outline of potential developments in Irish assessment of agricultural sustainability following the latest research and in order to meet policy demands. Recent research findings have suggested means of improved quantitative modelling of greenhouse gas emissions, but additional dietary and soil data may be important for this, especially for the potential inclusion of any soil sequestration.

Complexity and conundrums. Citizens' evaluations of potentially contentious novel food technologies using a deliberative discourse approach.

This research considers the processes involved in the formation of attitudes by citizens on potentially contentious novel food technologies (NFTs). Observations of one-to-one deliberative discourses between food scientists and citizens, during which they discussed these technologies, form the basis of this enquiry. This approach enables an exploration of how individuals construct meaning around as well as interpret information about the technologies.