New Member Drive

Minnesota DHIA is seeking new members this fall.  There are special incentives for Field Reps, and discounts for new members.  Pass along any prospect names you may have to your Field Rep on the next sample day, or call them in to us at 800.827.3442.   We encourage all Field Reps to offer 12 tests per year to all customers, and we (and most consultants that visit dairies) recommend herds test every month.

 

Johne’s Test Now Available on DHIA Milk Samples

 

For the past several months, the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the DHIA Labs in Sauk Centre and Zumbrota have been gearing up to offer the Milk ELISA Johne’s tests to Minnesota dairy producers, whether they be DHIA members or not.  The test is now available.  It utilizes the same DHIA milk sample collected for butterfat, protein, and SCC.  Extensive research and testing show the milk test to be very comparable to the serum ELISA Johne’s test that has been a standard test for many years.  ELISA tests are looking for the antibodies the cow creates to fight a specific disease, not the disease itself.  Once sampled, the antibodies do not grow, research shows the small amount of milk that is left in a flask from one cow to another does not impact the result for a cow.

 

The test has been available for several years through Antel Bio in Lansing Michigan, and is also now available in DHIAs across Canada, Texas, Arizona, and Wisconsin.  The Milk ELISA test is the second of perhaps many ELISA tests that will be available for use on the regular DHIA milk samples.  MN DHIA previously offered Staph. aureus ELISA testing using the DHIA milk samples.

 

The obvious advantages of the milk test include that sampling is easy (and inexpensive) compared to taking blood samples, results will be fast, and that the data will be integrated into the DHIA database and reporting system for your herd.  We will provide the numerical result and positive or negative status.  Please see the following joint release for more information.  To order the test on selected cows or the whole herd, simply talk to your DHIA Field Rep on your next sample day.

 

We will send results to your Vet if you would like us to.  In compliance with the regulation that Johne’s is a reportable disease, we will also report results to the Board of Animal Health.  The Board of Animal Health and University of Minnesota will use the results for statistical and research purposes only.  Results will not appear anywhere in the public record, and no follow up on herds will be pursued as a result of the Milk ELISA Johne’s test.  We will submit the data under your herd’s Premises ID that you have probably received from the Board of Animal Health as a part of the developing National Animal Identification System that is designed to track animal diseases in the event of an Animal Health Emergency.

 

Producers who have vaccinated against Johne’s should not use the ELISA tests.

 

We urge producers to work with your Veterinarian on using Johne’s test results, and contact the Minnesota Board of Animal Health for more information about their Johne’s control assessment tools and programs. 

 

 

 

Date:          November 16, 2006

 

To:              Minnesota Dairy Producers

 

From:                   Minnesota Board of Animal Health

MinnesotaDairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA)

Universityof MinnesotaVeterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

 

Subject:      Milk ELISA Test for Johne’s Disease

 

A test for the diagnosis of  Johne’s Disease is now available to Minnesota dairy producers.  It is an ELISA test that detects antibodies in milk against the organism that causes Johne’s Disease, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.  The test kit to be used will be ParaCheck® by Prionics (formerly CSL/Biocor). 

 

Milk ELISA testing will be conducted by the Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) under the supervision of the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.  Tests will cost $5.00 per sample and will be charged directly to the producer.

 

The milk ELISA test can be used by all producers, but it is not yet approved for use in the National Johne’s Disease test negative herd program.  At this time, milk ELISA tests will not be subsidized by state or federal funds.  The serum ELISA test, fecal PCR and fecal cultures will continue to be available through the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

 

As with all Johne’s Disease tests, the milk ELISA test is most effective in detection of infected cows over 36 months of age that are shedding moderate to high levels of the organism.  For best results, cows may be sampled any time during lactation except for the first seven days.

 

Results will be reported as a numerical value indicating the level of antibodies in the sample.  Numeric values for the Prionics milk ELISA test are different than values reported for the IDEXX serum ELISA.  Numeric values reported for the two tests compare as follows:

 

	IDEXX serum ELISA (Sample/Positive Ratio)	Prionics milk ELISA (Optical Density Difference)
Negative test result	< 0.25	< 0.10
Positive test result	> 0.25	> 0.10
Positive test result – moderate	> 0.40	> 0.25
Positive test result - high	> 1.00	> 0.60

 

 

Milk ELISA tests for Johne’s Disease will be conducted upon producer request using the normal  milk samples collected by DHIA.  Results from the tests will become a part of the producer’s DHIA records and will be reported to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Board of Animal Health

 

For more information, contact the Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association at 1-800-827-3442 or the Minnesota Board of Animal Health at 651-201-6824.

 

 

October Milk Quality Top 100

	SCC	Cows			SCC	Cows
DAN AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN	32	63		ROGER ALDINGER	107	65
PRAHL DAIRY	39	33		DEAN RAUSCH	107	63
CHADFELTMANN	46	11		PHIL SUESS	110	66
ZUMBRO VIEW FARMS LLC	58	47		MARK TESSMER	110	42
LARRY AND SHARON WISTE	59	27		BRUCE AND JODI HEIM	110	141
PINELANE JERSEYS	60	15		BLUE LAKE DAIRY	111	70
NORBERT BROWN	61	47		HAZEL-BUSH FARMS INC	111	47
JERON NATHE	62	232		RICHARD SCHNOBRICH	112	43
OAK GLEN JOHNS	63	32		BRED & BUTTER DAIRY	112	64
ROLLING W ACRES	65	27		DANIEL HALLBERG	112	59
DOUG AND JOAN RUTTEN	65	22		SELKE FARMS	113	163
GERALD+LISA BURG	67	43		JIM KULINSKI	113	51
KALMES FARMS INC	71	111		OREN AND JULIE OLSEN	114	86
DAVID SMITH	72	24		KEVIN SPLETT	115	53
STEVEN ASHER	73	32		PAUL NIES	115	42
HAPPKE HOLSTEIN FARM	76	65		MICHAEL AND KRIS BANSE	116	69
SIBERT FARMS	79	54		BIRCH POINT FARMS PESHON	117	222
JON WINTER	80	33		CIRCLE DRIVE HOLSTEINS	117	18
DAVID SCHUUR	80	62		HENDRICKSON DAIRY	118	29
LARRY & CAROL MOEN	83	71		HAROLD + BONNIE SCHOSSOW	118	57
HELEN NOWASKEY	83	24		AIMEE FINLEY	118	93
BEVENDALE HOLSTEINS	84	65		BRAD GLENZ	119	46
SARAH L POLYOCK	85	66		KEITH R JOHNSON	120	44
CHUCK KLAPHAKE	86	102		DEVOINE KRUSE	120	141
BILL MILLER	86	178		SMITH FAMILY FARMS	121	283
KEVIN & SHEILA THARALDSON	86	51		VON WAHLDE DAIRY	121	93
KIRK BENGTSON	87	45		MICHAEL LEHNERTZ	123	139
AL + MARK SCHMITT	87	93		DAVE + KATHY SKIBA	124	126
DENNIS BOYENGA	87	38		SON-BOW FARMS INC	124	917
RONALD AND SUSAN JOHNSON	89	63		SCOTT FELDHACKER	125	58
DONALD + DARLENE MATROS	91	77		JOEL & NICOLE GROSS	125	44
WALLY W WIESE	92	28		O + S DAIRY	125	216
WAYNE AND WADE ATHEY	93	40		BASHAW LAKE HOLSTIENS	125	33
JOHN ROBERS	96	22		JAMES M TESSMER	125	47
SCHEFERS BROS	96	77		KB HILLSIDE DAIRY	126	42
ART AND JANE STUMPF	98	52		NOSBUSH DAIRY	126	415
KUNST FARMS	98	69		PAUL WEIDENBORNER	127	144
DONALD G WETTSTEIN	99	28		AUSMUS FARM	127	60
PETER & MARK HENDRICKSON	100	73		SOLYNJA DAIRY ACRES	127	82
LESTER AND GARY RYDEEN	100	45		WILL TACHIBANA DAIRY	128	32
PAUL & MARY ZIMMERMAN	100	56		ROBERT KALLEMEYN	128	75
STEVE + DEB HEUER	100	34		DARREL + LISA MAUS	128	66
DANIEL SCHULTZ	101	33		LYNN WAEGE	129	55
MIKE & PAT BERNECKER	102	53		MATT BERKTOLD	129	169
JIM KLAPHAKE	102	49		GERALD SEITZER	129	47
DEAN + ELIZABETH JOHNSON	102	69		FOUR WAY FARM INC	129	226
ADAM DANIELS	104	16		EVERETT AND PAT ROLFING	129	45
NEESER FAMILY FARM LLC	105	65		DEAN FRISLE	131	67
MARK KLEHR	105	54		JOPPS CENTURY FARMS	131	96
BECHTOLD BROS	106	122		MANUEL JERGER& SONS	131	131
D & J  DAIRY	106	67		KIMM'S DAIRY	131	85
OAT HILL DAIRY	106	72

 

Premise Registration Update

The Board of Animal Health data shows reports that over 60% of DHIA herds have registered your premises. Thank you for your leadership.  The Board has spent a lot of time and miles trying to trace TB in the last couple of years, and that job would have been greatly simplified with Premise Registration and good records on the farms.  It would be wise for you and the industry to obtain your Premises ID today if you do not already have one.  Register your Premises today by calling the Board of Animal Health at 651.201.6816 or go to www.bah.state.mn.us.

 

  

Records Processing Update

 

There are now more than a dozen MN DHIA herds that are having your data processed at a different Dairy Records Processing Center (DRPC) than our standard offering of Agritech Analytics of Visalia California.  Some of you have changed because of dissatisfaction with Agritech.  Our Directors are visiting with and processing at other DRPCs as well as at ATA so that we can make comparisons and see what else is available.  Meanwhile, ATA has hired a new General Manager and is working very hard at correcting problems.  They expect to regain full certification in the next couple of months.  If you have questions on your reports, or want to talk about options, please call us at 800.827.3442, extension 14 or 35, or press 0 and ask for Bruce.

 

Rolling Herd Averages and Cow Records Corrected

 

As we previously reported, from early January 2006 through June 2006, ATA implemented its new data processing system and was not using AP factors for Fat, affecting 2,351 herds.  ATA was asked to reprocess all affected herds and has been doing so for the past few weeks to correct this error. All affected herds will have all affected test days for that period corrected. 

 

Changes in Herd Average will appear on the next Herd Summary Report.  Although most herds will see little or no change on the Rolling Herd Average, we did want correct information for the herd and for individual cow records. All affected records will be resubmitted to USDA for correction as well.

 

Corrected cow pages will be sent out on all affected cows in herds with the cow page option as soon as ATA completes the corrections.