Help To Control Johne’s Disease
“This gives anyone buying
fContmiMd froi animals the added assurance
otpp nf riM-tai that the herd is Johne’s free,
said Hutchinson.
test result* The third program that PDA
V tests tL offers is the “Johne’s Disease
' Mfy for lev* Management Program.’’ This
program is for herds that have
- s can c h positive results from the “30
’er by doi Free” tests taken on the *! erd>
, a id Hm “These herds need to identify
tay at . how much Johne’s they have in
testing their herd and how they are
vear ” going to manage it,” said
hinsoi. Hutchinson. “This involves
are some testing and some manage
.vej ment changes.”
ry The first step in the Johne’s
> Disease Management Program
is to sign a cooperative agree
ment. The agreement is signed
by the herd owner, herd veteri
narian, and PDA to identify
what the herd is going to do to
control and hopefully eradicate
the Johne’s problem.
In the agreement, each party
agrees to their responsibilities in
correcting the problem. PDA
agrees to do certain testing and
alleviate some of the fees. The
veterinarian agrees to do fecal
samples and blood tests to moni
tor the problem. And the herd
owner agrees to make necessary
changes to control the problem.
These management changes
may include the handling of
(Continued from Pago A 34)
est degree of certainty
If the herd owner receives all
negative test results on the 30
free ELISA tests, then they may
already qualify for level one cer
tification.
“Herd owners can choose to
move up the ladder by doing ad
ditional testing,” said Hutchin
son. “Or they can stay at level
one year after year by testing 30
animals randomly each year.”
According to Hutchinson,
some commercial herds are
choosing to pursue only level
one certification. “It is a very
cheap and low effort way to
assure others that your herd
does not have a widespread
Johne’s problem,”
Herds that are selling breed
ing stock will want to go on to
level two, three, and four. “Level
one does not provide the high
degree of confidence that those
who market breeding stock
need,’’ said Hutchinson.
It takes a herd about four
years to receive level four certifi
cation using an approved
sequence of annual blood tests
or manure culture tests. All
mature cows in the herd must be
have both blood tests and fecal
samples taken a minimal of four
consecutive times.
calves that are very susceptible
to the diseases, building new fa
cilities, improving sanitation
practices, and separating the
different age groups so that
young calves are not housed
with adult animals.
“The Johne’s Disease Man
agement Program is very flexi
ble,” said Hutchinson. “Not
every herd is going to want to
manage the disease as inten
sively as others do. Also, not all
herds will have the same level of
disease in their herd.”
Once the agreement is signed,
the next step is fulfilling the re
sponsibilities outlined in the
agreement. The herd owner and
veterinarian, along with PDA,
must work closely together to
control and manage Johne’s in
the herd.
Herds that participated in
either the Johne’s Disease Man
agement Program or the Volun
tary Johne’s Disease Status
Program can receive the “30
Free” tests the following year.
According to Hutchinson, ed
ucational programs on Johne’s
have been sponsored at several
county meetings over the past
few months. However, the best
thing that farmers can do to
enroll in the program and begin
Johne’s prevention in their herd
is to start by contacting their
local veterinarian.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March A, 2000-A35
Dairy Farmers Seek Increase
In Over-Order Premium
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) With rising diesel fuel
prices and milk prices at a 20-
year low, dairy farmer groups
are seeking a temporary in
crease of 25 cents per hun
dredweight to the over-order
premium paid to farmers.
The Pennsylvania State
Grange and the Pennsylvania
Farm Bureau are both calling
for this increase to aid farmers
in light of the financial hard
ships that hit dairy farmers par
ticularly hard in the early part of
this year.
The Pennsylvania Milk Mar
keting Board held a hearing on
Thursday to consider whether to
temporarily boost wholesale
and/or the premium for milk to
account for these higher fuel
costs.
In a letter submitted as part of
the Grange’s request for an
emergency hearing, the
Grange’s Legistlative Director
Brenda Shambaugh said “A
number of our members have
stated that their fuel costs nearly
doubled in recent months. That
means that the depressed milk
check is even less able to meet
the cost of production.”
“These are truly desperate
times for dairy farmers,” said
Harold Curtis, who is Chairman
of the Pennsylvania Farm Bu
reau’s dairy committee and
milks 300 cows in Warren
County.
According to Curtis, the aver
age cost of production last year
was $13.33 per hundredweight.
However, producer payments
are expected to average between
$11.50 and $12.00 per hun
dredweight for the month of
January.
At $12.00 per hundredweight,
a 25-cent increase to $1.45 in the
over-order premium would
bring the farmer’s Class I milk
price up to $13.45, enough to
cover production cost.
“Commodity prices are the
lowest that they have been in 20
years, and costs are not only
rising, but escalating dramatic
ally,” said Stambaugh. “Dairy
farmers do not have the ability
to recoup these additional
costs.”
BunOa om
Environmental solutions - Consulting & engineering
1 Compliance and permitting for air, water & soil
2 Dust and odor control - bag houses & cyclones
3 Liquid separation, drying, filtration and treatment
4 Fuel handling for solid, liquid, gaseous & waste fuel
5 Retrofit burners and controls for waste fuels
6 Mobile incineration service Meets DEP & ERA regs
7 Custom fabricated products for unusual applications
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ng
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