BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A new online course will help farmers learn how to prevent Johne’s disease, a slow and progressive bacterial disease of the intestinal tract that affects ruminants.
Five species-specific, producer-oriented online courses and a Spanish version of the dairy course have been developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
Information
The online courses include Johne’s disease information for dairy, beef, sheep, goat, deer and elk producers. Underwritten by a grant from USDA, the courses cover the causes of Johne’s disease, how Johne’s disease spreads, how to prevent Johne’s disease from entering your herd or flock, how to test for Johne’s disease and management practices to use to control infections.
Dairy and beef producers will also learn how the National Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program works and how to join.
Each course is species-specific and is free to producers. Farmers can complete the modules in less than 60 minutes.
Take a course
Taking one of the Johne’s disease online courses involves six steps. The first five steps take about five minutes to complete. The final step — taking the course — will involve about 30-45 minutes.
– Step 1: Go to www.vetmedce.org, where you’ll see the home page titled Veterinary Continuing Education. Once at this page, click on Courses written in red at the lower left of the page.
– Step 2: Once at the Courses Web page, click on Johne’s disease located in the left-hand column.
– Step 3: A new Web page will appear. On this page, click on Johne’s Disease Courses for Producers.
– Step 4: You’re now at a new Web page that lists the six Johne’s disease courses. Now you click on the course title that is appropriate for you.
– Step 5: On your species page, a list of what you’ll learn is listed along with other relevant information.
– Step 6: Begin your species-specific course.
Producers wanting a certificate of course completion are asked to register before taking the course and will be required to take a quiz after watching and listening to the presentation.
In addition to the online courses, information about Johne’s disease is available at Johne’s Information Central or at the National Johne’s Education Initiative at 270-782-9798.
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