'A gentleman's handshake': The role of social capital and trust in transforming information into usable knowledge

► The first paper to explore bovine TB information transfer through the framework of social capital. ► Social capital, trust and information transfer are explored through in-depth farmer interviews. ► Trust is low where contact between individuals is inconsistent and irregular. ► Trust provides a catalyst whereby information is transformed into knowledge. ►Findings suggest a rhetoric-reality gap in the government's bovine TB control policy.