Johnes: Calf feeding takes up a lot of time on dairy farms at this time of the year so anything that slows this process further is like waving a red flag at a bull for many farmers.

However, as Cork vet Eamon Guinevan explains (read here), the principles around Johnes control suggest newborn calves should get colostrum either from their own mother or a cow where you know her Johnes status.

Almost 2,000 dairy farmers are going to sign up to the AHI Johnes control program (applications close on 14 March 2014).

The results of the blood test or the two individual milk samples will show these farmers what cows in their herd are Johnes positive.

There is no obligation to cull these Johnes positive cows but management after calving will be more important and you should whip the calf away from the cow as soon as she is calved to limit the exposure of the calf to the bacteria in her milk and dung.

Many Irish farmers don’t know the Johnes status of individual cows and might not be present for all calvings. Therefore, all you can do is make a start this year at management by keeping the calving pens clean and whip all the calves away quick to keep them away from adult dung infected with Johnes bacteria to limit the exposure.

If you have any suspicion your herd has Johnes, sign up to the AHI Johnes programme. There are vets trained specifically for this all over the country.

Snatching the calf and knowing the Johnes status of all cows is how the disease is managed in countries like Denmark, who have a much higher prevalence of Johnes.

The Danish farmer knows the cow has Johnes from milk recording results so around the time of calving, this cow is managed in a separate calving pen and the calf is whipped away quickly from the calving pen once it is born.

Ketosis: It is a problem associated with negative energy balance and I was on two farms on Tuesday this week that had cows with the problem.

Getting glucose or propylene glycol into sick cows for at least two to three days will get them back going but look at the underlying issues such as feed space, overfat at calving, etc. Read more here.

Mycoplasma Bovis: Last week, I reported on how a farmer was treating Mycoplasma Bovis in his herd and the best vets he could talk to were recommending Alamycin and Tylovet injections early in the infection as the treatment of choice.

There are, of course, other injections with the same active substances, which are Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride and Tylosin Tartrate, respectively, in the two drugs mentioned.

This week, another farmer explained to me how three fattening bulls had the disease on his farm and, while two had to be slaughtered early due to lameness problems, the other bull made a full recovery when treated.