Dairymen asked to cooperate in Johne’s study
UNIVERSITY PARK - Johne’s
disease. How common is it 7 How
can we develop faster, more ac
curate tests to diagnose it? What is
its economic impact on the dairy
industry in Pennsylvania? These
are some of the questions that a
team of researchers now studying
Johne’s disease are hoping to
answer. They are working on a
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture-funded project being
conducted by the University of
Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine and The Penn State
Veterinary Science Department.
During the first year of the
project, a survey is being made of
cull dairy cows at time of
slaughter. Cattle to be studied are
chosen at random. Blood, tissue
and fecal samples are taken from
each animal selected, and iden
tification is recorded. These cattle
come from all' over the nor
theastern United States.
The owner of each Pennsylvania
cow that is sampled will receive a
letter explaining the project and a
questionnaire concerning his
management practices and herd
conditions. Since these
questionnanes are being sent to
the owners of every Pennsylvania
cow sampled whether positive or
negative for Johne’s, a large
number of dairymen about 500
will be receiving them. Accurate
answers to the questionnaire will
be important in determining the
economic affect of the disease and
the factors that contribute to its
spread and survival.
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The owner of a cow that tests
positive for Johne’s will also be
contacted by the Bureau of Animal
Industries to inform the farmer of
the findings and to give him their
recommendations. The finding of a
positive Johne’s cow at slaughter
will not affect the herd status of the
source herd or the eligiblity for
health charts since the positive
animal has been slaughtered.
During the second and third year
of the three-year project,
dairymen will be asked to
cooperate in on-farm studies.
Johne’s disease is a contagious,
intestinal disease which affects
cattle, sheep, goats and deer but
not humans. It is caused by a
bacterium, Mycrobactenum
paratuberculosis. In its severe
form, it causes watery diarrhea
that does not respond to treatment
and eventually leads to weight loss
and death. It is believed that even
those cattle that are infected and
do not develop the more severe
form may have lower milk
production, poorer reproductive
efficiency, and higher incidence of
mastitis than noninfected cows. All
of these problems contribute to the
economic significance of the
disease. The prevalence of Johne’s
disease in dairy cows is estimated
to be between five and twenty
percent.
The most accurate test for the
disease m the live animal is a fecal
culture. A culture takes 3 to 5
months to get results. For a farmer
who is trying to eliminate Johne’s
disease from his herd, this can be a
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long wait. The blood tests which
are now available, while much
more rapid, are not accurate
enough to be used to determine the
status of an individual animal.
Project researchers, with the
c„opcrat’
Rabbit
DEN lON, Md In response to
interest in rabbit production for
meat, a “Tri-State Rabbit Con
ference and Trade Show” will be
held in Maryland on Saturday,
March 17.
Aimed to appeal to existing
domestic rabbit producers and
those thinking of entering the
business, the conference will
feature workshops on such topics
as behavior as a management tool,
economics of rabbit production
and housing and environmental
requirements.
A trade show featuring the latest
equipment, feeds, financing and
electronic record-keeping for the
business will be held throughout
the day. There will also be a
special demonstration on the
evaluation of live rabbits and
dressed carcasses.
The meeting is open to all in
terested persons from Maryland,
Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia
and neighboring states.
Registration will begin at 9 a.m
with a $3 fee set to cover expenses
incurred from a special luncheon
that will include various rabbit
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dairymen, hope to assess the
number of Pennsylvania dairy
cows infected with Johne’s disease
and its economic impact. As part
of this project, faster, more ac
curate diagnostic methods are also
conference to be held
dishes All payments are to be
made at the door.
Those wishing to register in
advance or in need of further in
formation should contact either
Jack Frey of the Maryland
Department of Agriculture, 50
Harry S. Truman Parkway, An
napolis, Md. 21401 (telephone- 301-
841-5770) or Wayne Porter, Route
1, Box 274, Federalsburg, Md.
21632 (telephone; 301-754-9520).
Pre-registration is required.
The rabh.l 'foronce and trade
HESSTON, Ks. A program of
cost reduction, including factory
consolidations to cope with a
depressed farm equipment market
and the sale of its French sub
sidiary, has resulted in a profit for
Hesston Corporation for the 1983
year ending Dec. 1.
The farm equipment company
reported a profit of $2,028,000, or
$.27 cents a share, assuming no
dilution, on sales of $197,962,000
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show will be held on the grounds of
the Caroline County IMD) 4-H
Park, which is east of Denton off
Route 404 at Route 16 and Detour
Road
Joining together to put on the
conference and trade show are
representatives from the
Maryland Department of
Agriculture, Marketing Services,
Caroline County Extension Office
and Delmarva Rabbit Growers
Association.
Hesston reports profit
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being developed. Once it is
determined exactly where we
stand with Johne’s, we will be
much closer to controlling its
spread and reducing the resultant
losses to Pennsylvania dairymen.
This compared to a loss in 1982 of
$4,238,000 on sales of $202,081,000
from continuing operations, ex
cluding the results of its French
subsidiary, Hesston S.A., which
was sold in November 1982 to Ditta
Pietro Laverda S.p.A., a sub
sidiary of Fiat Tratton. The 1982
consolidated loss including the
results of the French subsidiary
was $7,947,000, or $2.69 per share,
on consolidated sales of
$254,417,000.