Step 2: List Alternate Interventions

Once the problem has been clearly defined, the next step is to identify what actions could reasonably be taken in response. Most animal health problems can be addressed in more than one way, and jumping straight to a familiar or preferred solution risks overlooking options that may be more effective, more feasible, or better aligned with the farm’s goals and constraints. Step 2 is about systematically identifying realistic alternatives before any attempt is made to compare their costs or benefits.

A key principle of animal health economics is that decisions are comparative. The value of any intervention can only be assessed relative to other feasible options, including the option of doing nothing. A clear and comprehensive list of alternatives is therefore essential for meaningful analysis.

What Counts as an Intervention?

In this context, an intervention is any deliberate change to current practice that is intended to alter animal health outcomes, production performance, or risk. Interventions can operate at multiple levels, from individual animals to whole herds, and may involve clinical, management, or structural changes.

Importantly, “doing nothing” or continuing current practice is always an intervention option and should be included explicitly. This provides the baseline against which other options are compared.

Categories Of Interventions

For clarity, it is useful to group interventions into broad categories. Not all categories will be relevant for every problem, but thinking across them helps ensure important options are not overlooked. The following sections will go through the main types of interventions for animal health problems and the types of information you need to collect to help construct your economic analysis.

Diagnostic Interventions

Diagnostic interventions aim to improve decision-making by better classifying animals or herds into disease states. Examples include laboratory tests, on-farm screening tools, or changes in monitoring intensity.

When considering diagnostic options, the key information required includes:

What the test measures or detects (pathogen, antigen, antibody, clinical indicator)
Sensitivity and specificity, and how these affect misclassification of animals
Appropriate timing of testing relative to disease progression
Which animals or groups should be tested
Turnaround time for results
Practical constraints, such as handling requirements or sample quality
Any negative consequences, including stress, false reassurance, or unnecessary treatment

At this stage, the focus is on understanding how diagnostic options differ in performance and application, not on calculating their costs or downstream consequences.

Treatment Interventions

Treatment interventions are aimed at resolving disease in affected animals. These may include pharmaceutical treatments, surgical procedures, or supportive care.

Key information needed for treatment options includes:

The treatment protocol, including drug, dose, frequency, and duration
Expected treatment success rates under field conditions
Time to clinical improvement or recovery
Effects on production, such as milk yield, growth, or fertility
Milk and meat withholding periods
Potential adverse effects or risks
Likelihood of relapse or need for repeat treatment

Where multiple treatment options exist, it is important to understand how they differ in effectiveness, practicality, and risk, even before economic comparisons are made.

Preventive Interventions

Preventative interventions aim to reduce the likelihood or severity of future disease events. Common examples include vaccination programmes, prophylactic treatments, and enhanced biosecurity measures.

Information required for preventative options typically includes:

The mechanism of protection and target disease stages
Expected effectiveness in reducing disease incidence or severity
Duration of protection and need for boosters or repeat application
Coverage required to achieve meaningful protection at herd level
Timing relative to risk periods
Known limitations or failure modes

Because preventative interventions involve certain costs now and uncertain benefits in the future, clearly documenting assumptions about disease risk and intervention effectiveness is particularly important.

Management Interventions

Management interventions involve changes to how animals are housed, fed, grouped, or handled. These interventions are often disease-agnostic and may influence multiple health outcomes simultaneously.

Relevant information includes:

What specific management practices would change
Which animals or groups would be affected
How the intervention alters exposure, susceptibility, or resilience
Interaction with existing farm systems and routines
Feasibility given labour, infrastructure, and seasonal constraints
Time required before effects are likely to be observed

Management changes are often highly context-dependent, making it important to consider how transferable published evidence is to the specific farm setting.

Structural or Capital Interventions

Some interventions involve investment in infrastructure, equipment, or facilities, such as improved housing, yards, ventilation, or feeding systems.

At this stage, key information includes:

What physical changes are proposed
Which disease pathways or risk factors are targeted
Expected lifespan and functional role of the investment
Compatibility with existing infrastructure
Flexibility for future use or system changes

These interventions are usually long-term and difficult to reverse, which makes careful documentation of alternatives especially important.

Population Demographic Interventions

Population-level interventions include decisions about culling, replacement strategies, or changes to herd structure.

Information needed includes:

Criteria for selecting animals to cull or retain
Expected effects on disease prevalence or transmission
Implications for replacement rates and genetic progress
Timeframe over which effects occur

These interventions often have both immediate and long-term consequences that should be clearly articulated.

Sources of Information

Identifying and describing feasible interventions typically requires drawing on multiple sources of information. No single source is sufficient on its own, and each has strengths and limitations. Combining clinical knowledge, industry experience, and published evidence helps ensure that the list of alternatives is both scientifically defensible and practically feasible.

Common sources of information include:

Clinical experience and professional judgement
Day-to-day practice provides insight into what is technically possible, how animals respond to interventions under field conditions, and which approaches are likely to be acceptable to farmers. Clinical experience is particularly valuable for identifying practical constraints, unintended consequences, and implementation challenges that may not be captured in published studies.
Industry guidelines and extension materials
Industry bodies, levy organisations, and extension services often publish guidelines, factsheets, and decision tools that reflect current best practice under commercial conditions. These resources are useful for understanding standard management options, typical protocols, and interventions that have been widely adopted within an industry.
Veterinary and professional organisation resources
Professional bodies and specialist groups frequently produce position statements, technical guidelines, and continuing education materials. These can help identify recommended interventions, emerging practices, and areas where evidence is still evolving.
Peer-reviewed scientific literature
Journal articles and systematic reviews provide evidence on the effectiveness of diagnostic tests, treatments, preventative measures, and management strategies. When using this literature, it is important to consider how closely study populations, management systems, and disease pressures match the conditions on the farm being analysed.
Government and regulatory publications
National disease control programmes, regulatory agencies, and public sector research organisations often publish guidance on approved interventions, biosecurity measures, and compliance requirements. These sources are particularly important when interventions are constrained by regulation or linked to national control objectives.
Pharmaceutical and product information
Product labels, technical datasheets, and manufacturer information can provide details on protocols, indications, withholding periods, and known adverse effects. While useful, this information should be interpreted alongside independent evidence where possible.
Farmer knowledge and on-farm records
Farmers’ observations, historical records, and previous experiences with interventions provide valuable context for what has or has not worked on a specific farm. This information can help tailor intervention options to the local system and avoid repeating ineffective approaches.
Continuing professional development and professional networks
Conferences, workshops, webinars, and discussions with colleagues are important sources of up-to-date information on emerging interventions and changing best practice. Professional networks often provide early insight into innovations before they appear in formal publications.

Best-practice recommendations are not static. As new research emerges, technologies change, and production systems evolve, previously accepted interventions may become less effective or be replaced by better alternatives. Maintaining ongoing professional development and the ability to critically appraise evidence is therefore essential for ensuring that the intervention options considered in an economic analysis remain current, relevant, and defensible.

Make sure you that you clearly document all your sources of information for your economic analysis to maintain credibility.

Step 1: Define the problem

Step 3: Enumerate Costs & Benefits

Table of Contents