Pig Farmers' Perceptions of Economic Incentives to Control Salmonella Prevalence at Herd Level

This paper investigates how perceived costs and benefits of control among Danish pig farmers affect the farmers' choice of action toward reducing the prevalence of in their herds. Based on data from an online questionnaire involving 163 Danish pig farmers, we find a considerable uncertainty among pig farmers about the perceived effects of the reducing actions. The results indicate large variations in the perceived costs of implementing different types of reducing actions (management-, hygiene- and feed-related). For some cases, farmers associate net benefits and positive productivity effects with implementation of the actions while studies by the industry indicate net costs to the farmers. Differences among farmers support the idea of an outcome-based penalty scheme but the large uncertainties about costs and effects of actions toward control might hamper the effectiveness of such a penalty scheme as a regulatory instrument to affect farmer behavior.