b'ARTICLEFor the last 25 years I have worked on tackling Johnes Disease (JD) within my practice but also as a consultant vet on farm and within the Johnes Action Group. I have ended up as the UK rapporteur for the disease at the International Dairy Forum, Chair of the Technical group AGJ, Board member of the International Association of Paratuberculosis and I developed the first online system for managing JD within Myhealthyherd in 2009. I have produced countless papers on JD and worked with so many vets and farmers to spread the word. I have absolutely no idea how that all happened! I have no additional post-graduate qualifications in cattle medicine or Johnes Disease. I am just a practising vet. On reflection though, there are some characteristics and approaches thatThinking laterally have helped me along the way. FourOr perhaps that just means more things stand out: creatively or deeply. If you consider all Networking well with expertsthe options out there and dont just Standing on the shoulders of giantsstick to dogma or common belief, you allows you to see further. There are socan make greater progress. That can be many people out there that know sothe real problem with Evidenced Based much and are always willing to help andMedicine - it can fix science in the past share their knowledge. Expertise oftenrather than the future.gets trapped and is poorly disseminated. If you consider all the Passion and interest My first major experience with JDoptions out there and dont just came in the nineties, when one of ourstick to dogma or common farmers bought 200 Danish heifers into an estate herd split over six herds. Thebelief, you can make greater heifers developed lungworm when theyprogress. That can be the real were buffer fed outside in the summer. Coprophagia and a naive immuneproblem with Evidenced Based system is a great way to spread aMedicine - it can fix science in disease. These heifers went on to spread JD amongst the herds. This experiencethe past rather than the future.really developed my passion and interest in how JD could be managed better inAll that vets knew about JD control, the UK. back in the day, was Test and cull. CommunicationThat was where the evidence pointed. The ability to communicate clearly in aThis was a system that worked well in way that the person receiving it wantssmall beef herds where the R value for to hear. Photographs, images anddisease spread was inherently low (high high-energy pitches were my mainstayresilience, lower risk of spread), but this in the early years. This has now shiftedmethod just didnt work in larger dairy with age more towards a listening,herds with high prevalence. Another consultative, coaching, servant styleapproach had to be adopted. leadership approach, where I amI worked with Dick Sibley to develop comfortable being subordinate in thethe six control strategies for JD within decision making process.Myhealthyherd and subsequently the National Johnes Management Plan. www.inspiredvet.co.uk5'