January 21, 1998

STRATEGY LAUNCHED TO SAVE DAIRY ECONOMY FROM JOHNE’S DISEASE

A bovine disease that’s costing the state’s dairy industry millions of dollars prompted dairy farmers and state officials to launch strategy last week in Sauk Centre to begin controlling it, according to the Minnesota Dairy Producers Board which sponsored the planning session. The sickness, called Johne’s disease, costs $227 per infected cow, according to a National Animal Health Monitoring System report cited by the dairy board. That adds up to $23,000 per year for a 100 cow herd with a 10 percent infection rate. The dollar loss is due to reduced milk production and premature culling caused by bacteria-induced diarrhea in the infected cows.

Although full extent of Johne’s disease is still undetermined due to limited testing, it is estimated that 22 percent of U.S. dairy herds are infected, according to a federal survey cited by Dr. William Hartmann of the state’s Board of Animal Health. Also, over 1400 herds in Minnesota had cattle tested positive for Johne’s, he said. Hartmann spoke at the Johne’s strategy session organized by the dairy board to coordinate industry and state efforts to control the disease.

Johne’s is contagious which makes cows in confinement susceptible, and the likelihood of infection increases with herd expansion, he explained. Because the disease is infectious and doesn’t have an effective cure, Hartmann and the dairy board are recommending a herd management program to control it. This would begin with increased testing and education at the local level. The board then recommends financial incentives at the state level to encourage farmers to cull diseased cows for slaughter rather than selling them as productive cows on the market. Spread of the disease could further be curtailed through preventative measures such as designing barns to reduce chances of contamination, segregating infected cows, using safe calving procedures, and custom heifer raising if farmers had the financial incentive to implement these practices, the board said. Reducing its spread across state and international boarders would require state and federal inspections, enforcement, and cooperation of the states’ dairy industries.

"The board will be supporting legislation for additional state funding for increased testing and informational outreach to farmers and their veterinarians," said Judy Kaiser, a Little Falls dairy farmer and advisory committee member to the dairy board. "It is also coordinating the distribution of Johne’s information brochures to farmers through the state’s producer organizations that are represented on the dairy board," she said. "Farmers, however, must eventually have the financial incentive to cull their infected cows for slaughter after the testing reveals where most of the infected herds are and farmers are educated on what to do."

Because the dairy board is mandated to address the dairy economy in behalf of farmers and consumers, it decided to help coordinate a Johne’s control program to prevent the disease’s cost to farm families and the processors which depend on them for their milk.

CONTACT PERSON: Jeff Kunstleben, President; Albany, (320) 845 4336