Summary
This qualitative study examines how temporal dynamics shape antimicrobial stewardship on dairy and beef farms in England and Wales. Through analysis of calf-rearing practices—particularly colostrum feeding and forced tube-feeding—the authors identify tensions between rapid, efficiency-driven agricultural temporalities and slower, skill-intensive care practices. The paper argues that while farmers develop pragmatic accommodations ('patient urgence'), structural agricultural pressures continue to marginalise both calves and human labour, limiting meaningful reductions in antibiotic use without broader systemic change.
Regional applicability
The study is directly applicable to United Kingdom dairy and beef farming policy and practice, being conducted in England and Wales. Findings speak directly to UK antimicrobial stewardship initiatives and animal welfare governance, suggesting that current policy approaches addressing AMR at the farm level may overlook the temporal and structural constraints facing calf rearers.
Key measures
Temporal configurations of calf care practices; tensions between productivist and patient-centred temporalities; strategies for managing competing timescales in colostrum feeding and tube-feeding ('tubing') of calves
Outcomes reported
The paper analyses how temporal conflicts between fast productivist agricultural practices and slower patient-centred calf care affect antimicrobial use. It demonstrates how calf rearers negotiate competing temporalities of care and identifies structural barriers to reducing antibiotic dependence.
Direct research
Fresh Crossref author abstract and exact Cardiff repository publication abstract describe newborn-calf care, colostrum feeding/tubing and antimicrobial-resistance concerns on dairy/beef farms in England/Wales.
Limits: Qualitative care/social-science research; no randomised antibiotic-reduction intervention or quantified causal husbandry benefit is established.
Topic tags
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