Questionnaires were posted to 800 randomly selected registered Victorian dairy farmers in 1996. 534 responses were received and analysed. 13.2% of respondents stated that JD had been diagnosed on their farm in the last 5 years. JD was rated second only to neonatal diarrhoea in importance as a disease of calves, even though other diseases of calves occurred more frequently. However, there was a low level of compliance with JD control recommendations by the respondents. There was no significant difference in the number of JD control recommendations achieved between the three major Victorian dairying regions. There was a significant difference in compliance between farms having had a diagnosed case of JD and those that had not. Although there is awareness among dairy farmers of the importance of JD, there appears to have been a poor uptake by farmers of measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Current JD control recommendations and the method of information transfer should be reassessed to ensure that dairy heifers are reared with minimal risk of transmission of JD on Victorian dairy farms.