The New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program (NYSCHAP) has been helping New York cattle producers with disease control and prevention since 1998. There are many advantages to participation in this long-standing program including herd planning for improved health and production; paid consultation time with a herd veterinarian and a NYSCHAP veterinarian; and reduced testing costs for Johne’s disease.
NYSCHAP is the only program of its kind around the country offering producers a free, comprehensive herd health disease management program. The NYSCHAP team includes the farm managers, their herd veterinarian and the NYSCHAP herd planner. This collaboration gives the farm regular opportunities to review their herd health, management, and to lay out a plan for addressing any issues. Continued support by the herd veterinarian throughout the year is encouraged with an annual review by the entire NYSCHAP team to update plans and address concerns.
The objective for every farm under NYSCHAP is to improve health of their animals and increase production and profitability. To help farms achieve this, NYSCHAP works with each farm and their veterinarians to identify key issues through risk assessments, goal setting, and herd-specific planning that is within the resources of the farm. At the core of the NYSCHAP plan is education about biosecurity and best management practices that, when implemented, can help across all diseases and management groups. Around the core are specific modules that can be utilized as needed to address specific concerns of a farm – Johne’s Disease, BVD, BLV, Salmonella, Beef Quality, Expansion, and Food Safety & Drug Residue Avoidance.
While enrollment in the NYSCHAP program starts with an overview of basic biosecurity and general best management practices, producers can sign up for additional modules targeting the priorities for their operation. Each module consists of a risk assessment tool, educational resources about a particular disease or management issue, and a herd-specific tactical plan to address any deficiencies identified during the risk assessment. The twelve modules are:
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) - Cattle management to improve market animal quality for dairy and beef operations.
Bovine Leukosis Virus (BLV) – Disease, management/control and testing information specific to BLV.
Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) – Disease, management/control and testing information specific to BVD.
Calf Health – Identifying biosecurity and disease risks within youngstock management.
Cattle Welfare – An entry point to prepare for compliance with National Milk’s FARM program.
Food Safety and Drug Residue Avoidance - Judicious drug use and management to prevent drug residue violations.
Foot Health - Assessment of the many factors that can contribute to lameness on the dairy.
Herd Expansion - Increased biosecurity recommendations in expansion herds.
Johne’s Disease - Disease, management and testing information specific to Johne’s Disease.
Milk Quality/Mastitis – Information on the many mastitis pathogens and management/control recommendations.
Salmonella – Disease assessments, management/control and testing information on the many Salmonellas including S. Dublin.
Small Ruminant – NYS Sheep/Goat Health Assurance Program (NYSSGHAP) is a complete health and management program tailored to sheep and goat operations.
Overall, NYSCHAP creates a systematic approach to 1) identify disease and management concerns; 2) assess risks to identify practices that may contribute to disease occurrence or spread on the farm; 3) identify realistic short and long term goals; 4) identify realistic strategies for improvement that are within the farm’s resources – the herd plan; and 5) revisit herd plan every year for updates.
NYSCHAP is also a confidential program. Article 15, Subdivision 41 under the NYS Agriculture and Markets Law ensures private farm information, testing and herd data that is voluntarily provided by the farm to participate in NYSCHAP is exempt from public disclosure.
Every farm is different – from its size, management, and challenges to its goals, disease occurrence, and resources. NYSCHAP’s goal is to take all of this into consideration to and help the farm create a plan that will work for them. For information or to enroll, please contact the program coordinator, Dr. Melanie Hemenway at 585-313-7541 or email Melanie.hemenway@agriculture.ny.gov.