‘The day I killed my cows was the day I walked away’: Mycoplasma bovis, moral economy and moral capital

Abstract

We explore the impact of a recent Mycoplasma bovis outbreak on affected farms in southern NZ through the lenses of moral economy and moral capital. Qualitative interviews were conducted with farmers impacted by M. bovis, local veterinarians, rural business advisors, Ministry for Primary Industries staff, and Rural Support Trust staff. In addition to economic capital associated with the business of farming, our research identified several forms of moral capital that were accrued, lost and exchanged across the many layers of the farming moral economy. Reputational moral capital, moral capital associated with productivity of stock, decision-making around killing livestock, and contested compensation claims concerning the value of breeding livestock were evident within participants' accounts of the M. bovis outbreak and its management. We suggest that livestock strongly embody these forms of moral capital in the farming moral economy because animals require care in order to survive and thrive, and the care invested in livestock is paid forward to be realized as economic dividends in the forms of milk, progeny, and meat. This analysis adds depth to understanding farmers' responses to the M. bovis outbreak, the eradication program as it was implemented, and the longer-term impacts during the recovery phase.