Guelph, Ontario, April 13, 2006 – Five industry councils under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program are providing $305,000 towards a $428,500 project to help prevent and manage the spread of Johne’s disease in Canadian dairy herds.

“The Government of Canada is pleased to contribute to this industry-led project aimed at those in rural Canada at the front lines of animal health, including producers and veterinarians,” said Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board Chuck Strahl. “This initiative shows us, once again, how committed the agricultural industry is to moving forward through collaboration and innovation.”

Johne’s disease is a bacterial disease of the intestinal tract commonly seen in dairy cattle. The Johne’s disease project will provide dairy veterinarians with training to deal with infected herds and will provide producers with an incentive to work with their veterinarian to determine potential infection of Johne's disease in their herds. Based on a veterinarian’s risk-assessment, producers can then make changes to management protocols to control the spread of the disease.

“While not new, Johne’s disease is receiving more producer and veterinarian attention,” explained Richard Cantin, director of marketing and customer service with CanWest Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI), based in Guelph, Ontario. He added that estimates suggest that roughly 15 percent of herds are infected at any one time.

DHI will spearhead the project and will work with five industry councils that deliver ACAAF in their respective regions. Councils from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have pooled their resources for the Johne’s disease project under the Collective Outcomes component of ACAAF. The coordination and leadership of this initiative is provided by Ontario’s Agricultural Adaptation Council.

For more information on the ACAAF program, please visit www.agr.gc.ca/acaaf. For more information on CanWest DHI, please visit www.canwestdhi.com.

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For more information please contact:

Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
613-759-7972 or 1-866-345-7972

Agricultural Adaptation Council
Nadine Buitenhuis
Communications Coordinator
Phone: 519-822-7554
E-mail: nbuitenhuis@adaptcouncil.org
www.adaptcouncil.org

CanWest Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI)
Richard Cantin
Director of Marketing and Customer Service
Phone: 519-824-2320