Canton, N.Y.; July 23, 2020. The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of the first surveillance for Johne’s disease in sheep on farms in northern New York at www.nnyagdev.org. The 2019 project report and a fact sheet prepared by Jessica Scillieri Smith, DVM, a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets veterinarian, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Livestock Educator Betsy Hodge include tips for reducing the risk of this bacterial infection in sheep.

Johne’s disease impacts sheep, goats, and cows. It is a frequently misdiagnosed gastrointestinal disease in sheep; clinical signs of the disease can sometimes take years to appear. The disease can be asymptomatic, making it difficult to diagnose without widespread testing in sheep flocks. Testing can also result in false negative results.

“While there is significant research on Johne’s disease in dairy cattle, research into the prevalence and significance of this bacterial disease in smaller ruminants has been lacking. Funding from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has established a baseline survey of Johne’s disease in regional sheep flocks, and provided education to the participating farms,” said Dr. Scillieri Smith.

Thirty-eight farms representing a total of 2,421 sheep on farms in northern New York (NNY) participated in the baseline survey in 2019.

Three hundred and nineteen two-year-old or older ewes from 13 flocks across Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and from eight flocks across Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties were selected for health surveillance sampling and Johne’s disease testing.

Testing results showed Johne’s disease present in some NNY sheep flocks, however, the level of infection appeared low. It was present in more than 50 percent of the 21 tested flocks.

Smith and Hodge suggest the following tips to help protect sheep flocks from Johne’s disease:

• only buy sheep form flocks documented as known-negative for Johne’s disease,
• test animals of unknown status before bringing them into your flock,
• quarantine and test animals after purchase to address the risk of false negative test results,
• limit exposure of lambs to any known-positive adults in your flock,
• make sure food and water sources are difficult for animals to contaminate with manure which can carry Johne’s-causing bacteria, and
• talk with your farm veterinarian to develop a “best practices” plan with support from the New York State Sheep and Goat Health Assurance Program.

Lambs raised on pasture with their mothers can be at risk of infection from the bacteria in manure in pastures. Johne’s disease impacts farm economics in terms of animal mortality, decreased live lamb births, decreased fertility, fiber loss, and increased veterinary costs and labor.

Farms surveyed in the six-county NNY region reported a total of 5,356 sheep in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Sheep are raised for meat, fiber, dairy, and breeding stock.

The researchers have recently been funded to assess the status of Johne’s disease in goat populations that may have a higher risk of the disease.

For more information, contact Betsy Hodge, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, 315-379-9192, bmf9@cornell.edu.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York  State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

CLICK HERE to see the American Agriculturist story on this project

Click here to read the American Agriculturist story by Chris Torres on the NNYADP-funded dairy heat stress abatement research conducted by Miner Institute. The story highlights the research done at the Tetreault family’s Hidden View Farm in Champlain, N.Y.

Click here to read the full report: The Effectiveness of Heat Stress Abatement on Lactating Dairy Cows’ Performance, Behavior and Health: Year 3

Click here to see other NNYADP Dairy Research project results/reports

FreshPlaza.com has posted a story on the NNYADP superfruits research with comments from project participant Dani Baker, at right showing a new honeyberry planting, at Cross Island Farms, Wellesley Island, N.Y.

Click here to read the announcement of the latest project results

Click here to read the NNYADP 2019 New Fruits for NNY project report

Northern N.Y.: June 29, 2020.  Alfalfa-grass quality trials in northern New York State are evaluating European meadow fescue varieties never before tested in North America and the first modern variety of meadow fescue developed in the U.S. from plants isolated in southwestern Wisconsin. These trials support New York’s dairy industry by examining a forage crop grown to feed milking dairy cows.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding the research that is being conducted by the Cornell University research team of Debbie J.R. Cherney, Ph.D., and Jerry H. Cherney, Ph.D. The latest results report of trials on farms in NNY is posted under the Research: Field Crops: Grasses tab at www.nnyagdev.org. (Click here to go to https://nnyagdev.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/NNYADP2020AlfalfaGrassReportFINAL.pdf).

The NNYADP trials are evaluating the opportunity to add European varieties of meadow fescue, a winter-tolerant perennial grass, to alfalfa plantings. The goal is to successfully grow meadow fescue as 20-30 percent of a mix with alfalfa under northern New York conditions. The spring harvest may account for up to half of the total forage yield of a crop grown to feed milking dairy cows.

“These regional trials are providing insight into alfalfa-grass combinations that can increase forage fiber digestibility enough to significantly increase milk income using balanced rations,” Debbie J.R. Cherney said.

“Many of the European meadow fescue varieties we are evaluating were developed in harsher environments than those in northern New York, so they should overwinter successfully here, but we need to evaluate the opportunity for yield and quality and their competitiveness with alfalfa,” Jerry Cherney explained.

The U.S.-bred meadow fescue in the NNYADP trial showed the highest neutral detergent fiber digestibility of the 19 varieties trialed in 2019. The seed supply of the variety known as Hidden Valley for the farm from which the variety has originated sold out almost immediately after it became available. The NNYADP trial data indicated that the Hidden Valley meadow fescue grew at the desired grass percentage in tandem with alfalfa.

Six farms in northern New York are participating in these forage research trials. In 2019, one farm harvested the trial plots twice, another farm harvested three times, and another participant harvested four times. A fourth farm successfully established a new seeding in 2019. Two additional farms joined the project in 2020, seeding trials with three new meadow fescue varieties released by a German seed company.

Harvested samples are assayed for alfalfa-grass percentage and alfalfa and grass quality in terms of crude protein, lignin, and fiber; dry matter yield; and evaluated for the influence of soil type, drainage, fertilization, seeding rate, and harvesting schedule on crop quality.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

Click here to read the 2019 NNYADP Maximizing Alfalfa and Grass Quality of Mixes report