If the response isn't positive, I'll have to get rid of the whole herd and start over. Don Hansen is the Oregon Extension veterinarian and chairman of the National Education Committee for the Johne's Working Group. Ohio's Plan Buckeye cattlemen are trying to turn the Johne's stigma into a marketing tool. The Ohio Johne's Test Negative Status Herd Program is a voluntary plan developed by the Ohio Cattle Disease Advisory Committee. Its goal is to identify herds that are low risk or free of Johne's.
Tests associated with the program are currently free to Ohio residents.
As cattle buyers become more savvy about Johne's, animals from herds with a test-negative status should be more valuable than animals from herds whose test status is unknown, according to state veterinarian Lee McPhail.