Commodity Watch
Johnes Disease, like BVD has been identified as a priority disease to be addressed by Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI), the industry body initiated by the UFU to tackle production diseases in Northern Ireland. A “Technical Working Group”, consisting of Vets and other Johnes experts, was established and tasked with developing a framework for a Johnes Control Programme both North and South of the border.
One year on, a voluntary all-island Control Programme has been set up, and has already been rolled out in ROI as a pilot programme, to be reviewed one year down the line. The initial target set by Animal Health Ireland, AHWNI’s southern counterpart, was to have 500 herds participating; however the demand was much greater than this, with 2000 herd owners wishing to be enrolled on the Programme by the end of February 2014. This strong uptake in ROI is partly due to a cost sharing agreement which has been put in place, which sees the farmer, the milk processor and the Department of Agriculture all contributing towards the cost of the programme for each herd. However, as the nature of Johnes Disease will mean that a certain level of testing will be required each year (either blood or milk), the sustainability of this cost sharing agreement will form part of the review of the pilot programme. A Johnes Control Programme will not only improve efficiency on farm but will also help to protect international markets, therefore the benefit will be shared across the supply chain and therefore so should the cost.
The framework for the Control Programme will seek to identify herds with no evidence of infection and will put in place measures to maintain that status. Secondly the Programme will seek to identify herds with infection present and will put in place tailored management strategies in conjunction with herd owners to reduce prevalence on the farm.
A key component of the Programme will be the support and input of the Private Veterinary Practioners who will be trained on the Johnes Control Programme by Johnes Disease expert and Programme Manager Sam Strain, who is employed by AHWNI to work on an all Island basis. This will ensure consistency North and South of the border which will be required if Johnes Disease is to be controlled and possibly eventually eradicated from the Island.
The UFU are supportive of a voluntary programme, and consider that it is essential that the cost is shared between processors and farmers, and although the programme has not yet been opened in Northern Ireland we hope to have both dairy and beef farmers enrolling this spring.
