Johne's Disease Working Group minutes: January 2026

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government officials
• Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Moredun
• Biobest
• National Farmers Union Scotland
• HiHealth Herdcare
• British Veterinary Association
• Synergy Farm Health
• British Cattle Veterinary Association
• Action Johne's
• Scottish Dairy Cattle Association
• Scotland's Rural College
• farmers
• vets

Items and actions

The minutes from the previous meeting were approved and seconded by members in the group.

 

Update on Johne’s Disease project

 

There was an update on the Johne’s Disease (JD) pooled faecal sampling project that is funded by Scottish Government. Following a successful tender, the appointed lab has worked with project organisers to refine the processes and vet practices have been recruited with a lot of interest in this project. The lab work will be completed by mid-March and a report will be ready by the next working group meeting.

 

CHeCS update

 

There were discussions on current studies investigating premises with high numbers of negative animals and shedding of Johne’s Disease at this stage as well as TB skin testing on MAP serology results.

 

Update on Risk Level (RL) status

 

There was a discussion on the new RL1* status, which was announced in October 2024 and began being used in October 2025. This is a new status as part of the CHeCS health scheme and is an enhanced level of recognition for herds already holding RL1 status. There was a discussion on the reasons for this new status. The group also discussed the challenges of testing younger cattle and the best ways to manage JD within a herd. Work is currently underway at SRUC to develop a tool for vets to use for evaluating test protocols in a herd.

 

Update on Livestock Health Scotland screening project

 

• The project investigates sources of replacement cattle, herd history for JD, environmental investigation and high-risk animals.
• The target for this project is beef suckler herds that aren’t in CHeCS and engagement with farmers who have typically not been engaged in JD management previously.
• As the project has been going on for three years there is now historical data for herds taking part, allowing further analysis of data and understanding of environmental results.
• The group will review the risk definition and matrix.

 

Priorities for 2026

 

The priorities suggested for 2026 were:

• Investigate long-term funding for managing Johne’s Disease
• Engagement with farmers and vets
• Annual Test Values (ATV) with increased focus on beef herds
• Engage with QMS on mandatory herd health planning
• Engage with ScotEID on data sharing to help manage JD