What do complementary and alternative medicines mean to UK dairy farmers and how do they use them?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used by some farmers to support herd health management practices. There is concern by a large majority of the veterinary community, who consider CAM to be counter to evidence-based practice. Little is known about what and how CAM is used on farms, and it is not clear which products or practices are encompassed by what farmers consider to be CAM. This paper reports on a study exploring the use of CAM on dairy farms in the UK.

Methods

Twenty farms with a range of management systems and herd sizes were recruited. Interviews were conducted with 24 farmers via face-to-face, telephone or videoconferencing modalities necessitated by the Covid-19 movement restrictions. 16 farms were visited to collect observational data usin

SUBMITTER: Crouch KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11897491 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature