Despite being of debatable efficacy, alternative medicines are in regular use on both organic and conventional dairy farms as part of a strategy for limiting the on-farm use of antibiotics. The study presented here examined French dairy farmers' understanding of and experiences with these medicines, focusing on homeopathy, aromatherapy and phytotherapy. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach combining animal science and sociology, we considered how dairy farmers' use of alternative medicines fits into a holistic approach to herd health management, on the one hand, and into farmers' networks of professional relationships, on the other. Our findings show that farmers are interested in alternative medicines for reasons that are at once technical, ethical, and economic. In the absence of local veterinarians specializing in homeopathy and aromatherapy, farmers enroll in short-term training courses to learn how to use these medicines. Alternative medicines are not a substitute for conventional medicine for these farmers; rather, they constitute one part of a holistic approach to herd health that combines preventive measures with a variety of curative treatments, and which is grounded in close attention to the animals' state of health. Farmers make use of guidelines for observing livestock that are central to the veterinary alternative medicine approach. Interestingly, women farmers appear to play an important role in introducing these practices into the management of the farm operation. Finally, farmers' interest in alternative medicines is indicative of their broader expectations for advice and support in moving toward the integrated management of livestock health, a key element of the agroecological transition. Recognizing these expectations offers useful insights for rethinking the role of veterinarians in dairy farming.

尽管具有争议性的功效，替代药物仍在有机和常规奶牛场中定期使用，作为限制在农场上使用抗生素的策略的一部分。此处进行的研究检查了法国奶农对这些药物的理解和经验，重点是顺势疗法，芳香疗法和植物疗法。通过采用一种将动物科学和社会学相结合的跨学科方法，我们考虑了奶农如何使用替代药物，一方面适合于整体方法进行畜群健康管理，另一方面适合于农民的专业关系网络。我们的发现表明，农民出于某种技术，伦理和经济原因对替代药物感兴趣。在没有专门从事顺势疗法和芳香疗法的当地兽医的情况下，农民们参加了短期培训课程，以学习如何使用这些药物。对于这些农民而言，替代药物不能替代传统药物。相反，它们构成了整体畜群健康方法的一部分，该方法将预防措施与多种治疗方法相结合，并且建立在密切关注动物健康状况的基础上。农民利用兽医替代医学方法至关重要的观察家畜的准则。有趣的是，女农民似乎在将这些做法引入农场经营管理中发挥了重要作用。最后，农民 对替代药物的兴趣表明，他们对向综合管理牲畜健康（农业生态转型的关键要素）的建议和支持抱有更广泛的期望。认识到这些期望为重新思考兽医在奶牛养殖中的作用提供了有益的见解。