ENTAIL

ENTAIL

Advancing joint health monitoring by organic farmers and their vets through video ethnography

EXPLORATORY PROJECT ENTAIL (2020-2022) The project is based on the observation that there are communication difficulties and differences of opinion between organic farmers and their health veterinarians, even though the issues of animal health, welfare and overall health are significant in the decades to come.

OBJECTIVES

The main hypothesis is that the activities and communication as organised today do not differ fundamentally from the practices in conventional farming, while they would require significant adaptations in process, content and clinical communication due to different conceptions of health management.

The project focuses on the interactions between farmers and veterinarians to identify the conditions necessary for joint health management in organic farming. The challenges are to foster a relationship of trust through a better mutual understanding between organic dairy farmers and veterinarians, and to develop professional training content.

METHODS

The issues addressed are at the crossroads of several disciplines: veterinary sciences, zootechnics of breeding systems, education sciences, management sciences, clinical communication.

The methodology is a research issue in itself and is based on monitoring 10 to 15 breeder-veterinarian pairs over a two-year period to describe the working situations between a veterinarian and an organic breeder and to guide their reflexivity based on videos taken during health check-ups. The system will thus contribute to the creation of knowledge on changes in practices and the acquisition of skills by the players, but also on the educational support systems necessary for this evolution of skills.

INRAE Units

  • BIOEPAR, Nantes
  • Territoires, Clermont-Ferrand
  • AGIR, Toulouse
  • SADAPT, Grignon

Partners

  • FoAP, France Comité de pilotage en cours de constitution