Disease tests prove costly
South Canterbury and Otago beef farmers are unwitting victims of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis even though testing so far has shown their livestock are free of any traces of the disease.
A farmer who rears calves for dairy farmers said he had a contract worth $100,000 for 200 calves cancelled as soon as the buyer heard the animals were being tested.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has indicated these farmers will not be eligible for compensation.
Federated Farmers North Otago dairy spokesman Lyndon Strang said North Otago was being treated ‘‘a bit like the leper colony of the South Island’’. He stressed there was no basis for the perception, and there was no more risk from farms that were not being tested than any other in the country. However, he conceded there was a problem for farmers whose stock was being tested.
The Waitaki region farmer, who wants to remain anonymous, said his property bordered one of the van Leeuwen farms which was not considered at risk. Nevertheless his stock were being tested because he is a neighbour.
Widespread globally, M. bovis was first detected in New Zealand in mid-July on a farm belonging to rich listers Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen. They own 16 dairy farms. While the disease does not affect the safety of milk or meat for humans, infected cattle are prone to mastitis, abortion and lameness and generally have to be culled. It has now spread to five properties in the South Canterbury/Otago region and one in Rangiora, North Canterbury.
‘‘Dairy farmers are not hit as hard because they can send their milk away, since the disease doesn’t make the milk unsafe, and they can send their cull cows straight to slaughter,’’ the farmer said.
‘‘We beefies trade with others, we’ve got more than 800 calves on board at the moment all under contract. I had a contract for 200 calves to go to a Canterbury operation but I had no option but to be honest and let them know about my situation. They pulled out of that contract – that cost me $100,000 – one conversation just like that.’’
He said he also buys in dairy bull calves from dairy farmers and raises them through to 100kg animals. About a month ago MPI tested 130, or a tenth of his livestock, and after 16 days they tested negative. ‘‘I was on tenterhooks waiting for those results to come through but we’ve got two more rounds of testing yet and that’s going to be another four weeks. But with all the farms that are coming up positive and all the surrounding farms around them that need testing, I’m picking that four weeks will be stretched out to about six.
‘‘That’s a big issue in terms of cashflow,’’ the farmer said.
A MPI spokesman said that under section 162A of the Biosecurity Act, compensation was limited to the losses incurred from the MPI exercise of powers under the Act. The amount of the compensation paid was aimed at ensuring the farmer was no better or worse off as a result of the powers exercised by MPI.