A study was carried out to determine the possibility of a more-closed farming system for (Dutch) dairy farms. The objective of the study was to provide effective and economically profitable management advice for improving the animal-health status of farms. Management measures will only be successfully applied if supported by farmers and their advisors (such as veterinarians). Therefore, the perception of farmers and advisors of the importance of various risk factors for the introduction of diseases to a farm was determined by using bovine herpes virus type 1 (BHV1) as an example.
As part of the study, an evening-long workshop was organized and run thrice. In total, 49 farmers, veterinarians and AI technicians participated in these workshops. The computerized questionnaire technique was based on adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA). ACA has the advantage that participants can work with a large number of risk factors in a relatively short period of time. Another advantage of ACA (compared with standard questionnaires) is that the answers from each participant can be checked with regard to consistency with respect to the importance assigned to them. Data from participants with inconsistent responses can be excluded from further analyses. The results of the ACA interview were compared with the risk factors reported in the literature as being associated with BHV1 status (e.g. purchase of cattle, participation in cattle shows) and with farmers' actual management to prevent the introduction of diseases.
The workshop participants were all operating in the dairy sector and they seemed well aware of the risk of direct animal contacts for the introduction of BHV1. Farmers thought visitors to be more risky than did AI technicians and (especially) veterinarians. Farmers who purchased cattle or participated in cattle shows were of the opinion that the risks of direct animal contacts were more important than did farmers who were not involved in those practices. Farmers whose farms were BHV1-positive (and participated in cattle shows more often) thought the risk of participation smaller than did farmers with BHV1-negative farms. 相似文献
There has been a steady growth in demand for convenience and ready-cooked food has influenced the interest of poultry processors in developing value-added chicken products that meet consumers' demand/choice. A conjoint analysis was done in this study on the survey of 975 chicken consumers in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, between March and September, 2014 to valuate consumers, preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for various chicken attributed parts, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of flavor and cooking method. The estimates of consumers, WTP premium prices for various mixtures of value-added characteristics were ascertained. The consumers preferred chicken products refrigerated, from chicken produced under free-range management, chicken breast, chicken product that was addictive and flavor free, which could be oven-heated or pan heated. One half of the entire respondents were willing to pay about 25% more for value-added chicken product over the price for conventional products. On the whole, a premium for value-added chicken products was more likely to be paid for by young consumers, consumers who patronized farmers' markets and preferred free-range or organic chicken products. WTP by consumers was negatively affected by price of products. The poultry industry could utilize combined knowledge of consumers' WTP for value-added chicken product price as a guide of develop innovative value-added chicken products. 相似文献
Zoonoses pose a significant burden of illness in North America. Zoonoses represent an additional threat to public health because the natural reservoirs are often animals, particularly wildlife, thus eluding control efforts such as quarantine, vaccination and social distancing. As there are limited resources available, it is necessary to prioritize diseases in order to allocate resources to those posing the greatest public health threat. Many studies have attempted to prioritize zoonoses, but challenges exist. This study uses a quantitative approach, conjoint analysis (CA), to overcome some limitations of traditional disease prioritization exercises. We used CA to conduct a zoonoses prioritization study involving a range of human and animal health professionals across North America; these included epidemiologists, public health practitioners, research scientists, physicians, veterinarians, laboratory technicians and nurses. A total of 699 human health professionals (HHP) and 585 animal health professionals (AHP) participated in this study. We used CA to prioritize 62 zoonotic diseases using 21 criteria. Our findings suggest CA can be used to produce reasonable criteria scores for disease prioritization. The fitted models were satisfactory for both groups with a slightly better fit for AHP compared to HHP (84.4% certainty fit versus 83.6%). Human‐related criteria were more influential for HHP in their decision to prioritize zoonoses, while animal‐related criteria were more influential for AHP resulting in different disease priority lists. While the differences were not statistically significant, a difference of one or two ranks could be considered important for some individuals. A potential solution to address the varying opinions is discussed. The scientific framework for disease prioritization presented can be revised on a regular basis by updating disease criteria to reflect diseases as they evolve over time; such a framework is of value allowing diseases of highest impact to be identified routinely for resource allocation. 相似文献
The expansion of plantation forestry in New Zealandduring the last century has altered the landscape and will continue to do so in the future. The implementation of recent resource management policy, the 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA), will also influence the impact of future plantation expansion on the landscape. It is necessary to analyze current land-use patterns in order to predict effects on future landscapes. This study analyzed the current land-use patterns of the Nelson region by examining the relationship between land-use and site conditions and by characterizing the distribution pattern of land-use depending on distance from the city. The distribution pattern was considered from an economic perspective, based on the Barlowe’s model of land use distribution. The relationship between the current land-use pattern and previous land management policy was also examined using the Land Use Capability. Consequently, in addition to the physical attributes of the land, the influence of land-use management policy was obvious. Thus the RMA will undoubtedly influence land-use changes in the future. It is therefore necessary to understand the factors determining changes in land-use patterns in conjunction with the district plan of the RMA to predict future changes in land-use.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
A novel variation of a multivariate stated preference method (the maximum difference conjoint approach) is presented in a survey designed to elicit the preferences of a fisheries stakeholder group (recreational anglers fishing in northern Germany) for a portfolio of measures to conserve European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.). Unlike other survey methods, our approach allows the separation of weight (i.e., relative importance of different conservation actions) and scale (i.e., perceived utility associated with different levels within one action) ascribed by stakeholders to conservation measures. The method also allows for trade-off decision-making and joint preference articulation for various conservation actions, and thus provides more realistic decision situations than other survey methods can achieve. We found that anglers prefer tighter than current eel fishing regulations but object to highly restrictive temporal closures. Confronted with an integrated eel conservation program, anglers were overwhelmingly willing to compromise, accepting tighter angling regulations provided that other sources of eel mortality are regulated concomitantly and eel stocking increased. Willingness to accept stricter regulation increased further when the suite of regulations delivered success in terms of increased eel escapement. We encourage the replication of the presented survey technique with other eel stakeholders groups, but also in other conservation contexts, to see if similar patterns of response behaviour emerge that would not have been visible in traditional opinion-type preference assessments. Our results suggest that implementation of eel conservation policies should consider joint regulation of sectors that potentially affect eel stock negatively. Otherwise, management failure and conflict is likely. 相似文献