In my last article, in November, I mentioned that we were about to test our cows for pregnancy and also for Johne’s disease.

In total, 90% of cows tested in-calf. One group of 40 cows that we were worried about had a different bull put in for another four weeks on top of the normal 10.

Although it was still the worst group, there were 31 in-calf instead of 19, which would have been a disaster.

The cull cow price isn’t good enough to compensate for such lack of output going forward.

Johne’s testing resulted in just one cow being rated as suspicious.

This animal should be re-tested in six months, but we will cull it now to be on the safe side.

We now have risk level II status, due to no animals testing positive. You need to have three clear annual tests to achieve risk level I status.

Progress

We have been testing for Johne’s disease since 2003, so why has it taken so long to make progress?

The guidelines around Johne’s aren’t very specific, and suggest that young cattle, or cattle under six months of age, are most susceptible.

However, I think that the most susceptible animal is the newborn calf.

The last time straw prices went through the roof, we put in a wood chip corral.

One cow shedding bacteria could result in many cows’ udders covered in dry muck contaminated with Johne’s

We persevered with it for three to four years, then gave up.

It saved plenty of straw, but it was always too dirty. The cows were on it until just before calving.

This meant that one cow shedding bacteria could result in many cows’ udders covered in dry muck contaminated with Johne’s.

Newborn calves were then at risk of ingesting the bacteria with their first suckle.

This resulted in numbers testing positive rising from one per year to nine per year.

Thankfully, we now seem to have the bacteria under control.

Our cows now calve outside, although the heifers are still kept indoors.

But given my experience, I am convinced about the importance of having a well-bedded calving/pre-calving area, and keeping water troughs clean, to control the disease.

If you have never tested for Johne’s and retain or sell breeding stock, then you should definitely test for it, as you could be slowly building up big problems for the future.

I have seen float-loads of cows leave a farm that started testing.

If, however, you buy-in all replacements there is probably not much to be gained from testing, aside from the fact that you can fatten positives up and sell them for a decent price, before they turn clinical and start losing weight.

Vaccinate

On our farm we also vaccinate our cows with Bravoxin 10, Leptovoid H, Bovillis BVD and Rotavec Corona.

They are wormed and drenched for fluke as well.

I know another farmer who takes the opposite approach, and doesn’t test or vaccinate for anything.

He keeps a few extra cows to compensate for the resulting losses.

Maybe he’s right, but a few dead cows and/or calves pays for a lot of vaccine.