Dr. James Hanks, Director of PAN Livestock Services Ltd, is lending his expertise to support the Agricultural & Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Healthy Herds campaign. As part of this initiative, AHDB is running a series of workshops on dairy farms across Great Britain, aimed at improving herd health and disease management. Each event includes a farm walk with the host farmer and their Johne’s Disease advisors, followed by an informative session led by a Johne’s expert.

The workshops focus on key aspects of effective herd management and disease control. Topics covered include making the most of milk recording data, improving Johne’s control through enhanced calf hygiene, and managing cows during calving according to their infection status. Attendees will also learn about the critical biosecurity principles of biocontainment and bioexclusion, as well as strategies for fine-tuning their team’s approach to achieving lasting on-farm behaviour change.

Participants who already undertake milk recording will have the option to join a follow-up benchmarking workshop. This additional session is designed to help farmers better understand their herd data in comparison with others, receive continued expert support, and develop stronger collaboration with their veterinary advisors. Ultimately, this follow-on opportunity will enable farmers to strengthen and personalise their Johne’s disease action plans for long-term herd health improvement.

To book onto an AHDB workshop, please click HERE.

To read the recent Farmer’s Guardian article on these workshops, please click HERE.