Using Realistic Evaluation to understand how interventions work on dairy farms

A new study by AWP researchers used Realistic Evaluation to understand how an intervention to help farmers modify and use standard operating procedures (SOP) for colostrum management worked in different contexts. Farmer reasoning about the purpose and utility of the SOP, plus how they used SOP resources, impacted intervention success. To facilitate change, interventions should consider staff context, integrate tool demonstrations and actively participate in the intervention process to understand farmer needs.