Farmers meet to discuss M Bovis
Ma¯ kuri farmers were called together last Tuesday to discuss the impact of mycoplasma bovis found on government-owned Rangedale farm at Pori, east of Pahiatua.
The entire herd of 900 cattle with a variety of ages will be slaughtered.
The meeting was organised by Jane Tylee of Rural Trust Support and Rachael Fouhy, senior veterinarian from Tararua Vets after receiving calls from farmers concerned about M Bovis in the district.
“We wanted them to receive the same information, to avoid mistrust and mistruths, to be able to ask questions and to be supported by Jane and myself,” said Rachael. “Landcorp, which operates Rangedale farm, came along with three representatives and [they] were very open about what was happening on the property.”
Emil Murphy from MPI talked about the disease and how it spreads.
“The biggest risk is young calves getting it from raw milk from infected cows. A lot of our tracing has been where calves have come from — it’s been our main focus. It can be spread by nose to nose contact,” he said.
“The testing process for animals normally results in a vet getting an answer straight away from a blood test. With M Bovis it can hide in the body and give false results. It needs to be tested repeatedly over lots of animals to get a secure answer. This has been the process followed at Rangedale,” said Rachael.
At a parliamentary briefing on Thursday head of Biosecurity New Zealand Roger Smith spoke on the mycoplasma bovis rise. The number of properties in New Zealand under control has leapt from 129 to 299 in just six days. There are 38 infected properties now with two more found on Thursday morning in O¯ amaru and Southland. On top of that there are 40 properties which are highly likely to become infected. It was explained that 80 per cent of farmers receive compensation from which the value of the stock minus meat company payments from slaughtering is applied. Applications had to be done correctly and could be met within 48 hours or up to four months if the paperwork is not correct. Up to 22,000 cattle could be slaughtered nationally.
“Mental health is a big issue. Farmers can be isolated and not receive the same information. They’re in a situation of uncertainty,” said Rachael. “After the meeting the feedback was that farmers understood the risk a lot better and it was a lot less than they first thought. There was some panic going around initially but after the meeting farmers felt more secure as to what the future holds.
“I would like to see some firm decisions made by the government in the next four weeks about where they are going to go with this. Are they going to call it containment or eradication or say “this is what we are going to do for the next three years and phase it out”?.”
Mayor Tracey Collis has a take on biosecurity.
“One of the takehome points from the meeting at Ma¯ kuri for me is around vehicles transferring mud, using the phrase ‘clean on — clean off’ so when a contractor comes onto the property the vehicle is clean, when they leave it is clean.
“It’s practised in the organic/viticulture industry, ensuring nothing is transferred between properties. Another point gleaned was that limestone on tracks is really good because its hard for bacteria to survive natively in alkaline conditions.
MP for Wairarapa Alastair Scott was concerned about a lack of response, contact and communication with neighbouring farms to Rangedale.
“There should be personal contact with the bordering farmers, making sure they are ok,” he said.
If anyone has any concerns about M Bovis contact Rachael Fouhy on 376 8046 or Jane Tylee on 376 3825.
‘I would like to see some firm decisions made by the government in the next four weeks about where they are going to go with this. Are they going to call it containment or eradication or say “this is what we are going to do for the next three out.?’ years” and phase it
RACHAEL FOUHY, SENIOR VETERINARIAN FROM TARARUA VETS.