Cost-benefit and Acceptance Analysis of Alternative Nematode Control Practices on Organic Dairy Goat Farms: A Case Study in France

Summary

This article assesses the costs, benefits, and acceptance of alternative control practices of Gastro-Intestinal Nematodes (GIN) for a typical organic dairy goat farm in France. A participatory Structured-Decision-Making (SDM) framework was used to guide focus group discussions, with an economic farm model and the Rogers and planned behavior theories used within the SDM framework. The study showed that the implementation of alternative GIN control practices can be economically profitable. An increased gross margin of €41 per dairy goat was calculated, which was mainly due to a decrease in the milk withdrawal cost. The simplicity to use or implement the alternative practices and the experience level of the farmers seem to play a positive role in adoption of the alternative practices consisting of more targeted and strategic treatments. The novel information presented in this article contributes towards facilitating the adoption of suitable alternative approaches for parasite control.