The New 2026 Irish Johne’s Control Programme in six points:
- The new 2026 IJCP is a voluntary programme in which farmers and their own vet make the decisions about what is best for the herd in terms of Johne’s disease control.
- All Irish cattle herds, both dairy and beef, are eligible to join.
- Each year, farmers carry out an annual herd test for Johne’s disease on cattle over two years of age, using either milk or blood samples.
- The new programme now generates three reports available through the farmer’s Johne’s dashboard on ICBF. These reports provide farmers and their vets with valuable information to assess Johne’s disease risk within the herd, identify higher-risk animals and track the herd’s progress over time.
- This allows farmers to make informed herd health management decisions. The new IJCP is an ongoing programme in which farmers will engage with their own vet to set up a tailored programme for their own circumstance. It will work in tandem with funded TASAHs where trained vets will provide the on farm advice.
- Membership of the IJCP is free to join and it includes a huge array of benefits, such as access to the ICBF Johne’s homepage, which contains invaluable information and the new reports which will benefit anyone involved in Johne’s control.