Rose Jackson and Ben Watts from Kite Consulting were joined by Karen Bond from NMR on Wednesday’s online Johne’s Disease seminar to cover why we’re still talking about the disease and how the right data can help you make the right control decision for your farm.
Karen explained what recent data tells us about the effect of Johne’s Disease on a herd’s average cell count, milk production and calving interval. NMR HerdWise data from quarterly testing herds shows that as the severity of the disease rises in a herd so does its impact.
Karen also highlighted the impact Johne’s has on farm sustainability. The same inputs go into all cows, she stressed, but recent calculations reveal that a Johne’s red cow has a GHG emission of 387 tonnes more over their lifetime, than a green cow.
Ben used anonymous real life case studies to show how interpreting data in different ways could lead to success or failure with Johne’s control plans. He highlighted how identifying and dealing with ‘super-shedder’ cows can help meet long term control aims.
If you missed the seminar listen here or catch up with Rose and Karen when they discussed the topic on a recent Kite podcast.
