Johne’s Management Limited (JML) was established in 2007 to promote the control of Johne’s disease in farmed deer in New Zealand. It is a small, highly active company with a single full time Project Manager and several other contract staff. It is funded by the deer industry and has the following mission statement:

‘To provide services and assistance to the N.Z. deer industry for the control of JD based on monitoring and maintenance of a national database’

The JML national database

JML maintains a strictly confidential national database of JD-like lesions detected in deer at processing. Over 99% of farmed deer processed since the start of 2007 are in this database and linked to their farm of origin.  JML regularly analyses this data to monitor the disease in space and time. It also uses this data to identify farms on which the prevalence of JD-like lesions is increasing, or consistently high, and to work with the farm owners and Johne's Consultant Network veterinarians to establish tailor-made on-farm control programmes for the disease.

JML works with AsureQuality, the national providor of food safety and biosecurity services, to train meat inspectors in the detection and recording of JD-like lesions in deer to ensure our records are consistent and of high quality.

The Johne's Consultant Network

JML coordinates a network of veterinarians, the Johne's Consultant Network (JCN), who have received special training to assist farmers in developing control programmes for JD. You can read more about this network here.

Guidelines for implementing control

A comprehensive Technical Manual for veterinarians to assist them in developing on-farm control programmes for JD has been created by the Johne's Research Group 2. JML make extensive use of this document and  review it annually ensuring it details current scientific data and translates this into effective control options. For more information on the Technical Manual click here. 

A Farmer Manual has been created as a shorter version of the Technical Manual designed especially for farmers. The Farmer Manual was sent to all deer farmers in New Zealand in 2010. More information on the Farmer Manual is available here.

On-farm actions
Every four months JML contacts farmers who have sent deer with JD-like lesions for processing during this period, via a notification letter. The notification letter includes the number of lesions that were detected, some basic information on JD and suggestions on how to establish a control programme as well as the contact details of members of the JCN.
JML plays an active role in promoting on-farm control of JD.  Sites at national Field Day events and deer industry conferences are established to provide farmers with easy access to their JD information. JML also participates in Deer Industry Focus Farm events, to show local farmers that the disease can be successfully controlled.  

Research
JML's focus is on getting active at the farm level to control JD, rather than on research into the disease. We do not undertake research for purposes other than self review, however we do support and promote research providers such as the Johne's Disease Research Consortium, Crown Research Institutes, and Universities. Strict protocols around data confidentiality place strong restrictions on access to JML data.