PHASE TWO OF IRISH JOHNE’S CONTROL PROGRAMME (IJCP) ANNOUNCED Animal Health Ireland (AHI) have announced that Phase Two of the Irish Johne’s Control programme will commence on the 1st of January 2019 and it will be open to all dairy farmers across the country, based on voluntary participation. Farmers currently registered in Phase One of the programme will automatically have their registrations carried forward to Phase Two.
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• Funding will be provided jointly by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and individual milk processors with a commitment to maintain financial supports over a four-year period for each herd. This funding will assist herdowners to carry out whole herd testing, Veterinary Risk Assessment and Management Plans (VRAMP) and ancillary testing where required. Key Points of Phase Two of the IJCP: • Phase Two lasts for four years following registration, with herds following either a test-negative or test-positive pathway depending on results. • Herds will complete an annual herd test (one blood or one milk sample per eligible animal); • Herds on the test negative pathway will conduct a Veterinary Risk Assessment and Management Plan (VRAMP) for each of the first three years. • Herds on the test positive pathway will conduct a VRAMP each year, with additional veterinary advice provided through the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH). • DAFM will provide the funding to meet the costs of VRAMPs, ancillary testing and TASAH (where required). • Milk processors will provide financial support for whole herd testing for three years (testnegative pathway) or four years (test-positive
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pathway). Milk processors, and where relevant, DAFM will provide the funding to meet the costs of VRAMPs, ancillary testing and TASAH (where required). An objective measure of the progress that each registered herd is making in controlling Johne’s disease will be made to each herdowner through the ICBF. Introduction of national bulk tank milk testing by DAFM to identify the most heavilyinfected herds and recruit them into the programme.
The agreed funding for Phase Two (over a four year period) is summarised below: 1. Processors will provide 3 years of support for herds in the test negative pathway at the following levels- year 1 :€2.75 per animal, Year 2: €2.06 per animal and Year 3 €1.38 per animal. 2. For herds in the test-positive pathway, processors will provide €2.75 per eligible animal in each year. 3. DAFM will fund the cost of VRAMPs, ancillary testing and TASAH investigations. 4. For herds that enter the test-positive pathway following a positive BTM result and conduct a WHT, DAFM will provide additional funding on top of the :€2.75 per animal provided by the processor to cover the testing cost. Further details of the programme will be proved through a series of farmer awareness seminars, hosted by individual milk processors and through the AHI website (www.animalhealthireland.ie).