Latest news with #Mycoplasmabovis
Scoop
2 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
OSPRI Expects Smooth Transition To In-House TB Testing
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at OSPRI officially starts today, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency. Another 10 seasonal field technicians start later in the year. OSPRI took over the TBfree national eradication programme in 2013, and testing was done by AsureQuality. OSPRI general manager disease control, planning and implementation, Simon Andrew, says it now makes sense for the testing to be done by OSPRI, and the transition should be smooth for farmers and the livestock industry. "Testing in-house is a very important step for OSPRI, as an integrated disease control eradication agency," he says. "We're looking forward to carrying out end-to-end control of TB. "We've recruited a strong team of technicians. The expertise they bring will expand our capability and add value to our other programmes. "Testing in-house will bring us closer to farmers, which means we can be more responsive to what farmers need from testing, and from OSPRI." In any one year, a large proportion of the national livestock population is skin tested for TB. The programme undertook about 1.7 million TB tests in the 2023-24 year. "We know farmers and our funders, MPI and livestock industry bodies Beef+Lamb NZ, DairyNZ and the Deer Industry Association, want to see us make more efficient use of the levies paid for the TBfree programme," Simon says. "We are anticipating the cost savings we gain from doing testing in-house will allow us to increase the investment made into possum control, which is the key to achieving TB eradication." Farmers don't need to change what they do. Routine testing will be scheduled when required and to go through normal channels to book a pre-movement test. Along with TBfree, OSPRI also manages NAIT, the national system for tracing cattle and deer, and MBfree, the national eradication programme for Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis).
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
New Legal Requirement To Record Raw Milk Movement
Press Release – OSPRI New Zealand Disease eradication agency OSPRI is alerting farmers to new legal requirements which apply from 1 July 2025 to keep records of the movement of raw milk on and off farm. An ongoing risk in the fight to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis has led to some new requirements for raw milk destined to be used as cattle feed. Disease eradication agency OSPRI is alerting farmers to new legal requirements which apply from 1 July 2025 to keep records of the movement of raw milk on and off farm. OSPRI's national manager, Mycoplasma bovis, Mackenzie Nicol, says it's known that M. bovis can spread between properties when raw milk is used for cattle feed, so, from 1 July, the new National Pest Management Plan for requires anyone receiving raw milk on to a farm with the intention of feeding it to cattle, to accurately record it. 'Farmers and industry have worked so hard to eradicate what we are doing with this requirement is all about closing one of the last loops, where we know there is risk of disease spread. It makes good sense to be vigilant. 'We know this change will affect businesses transporting raw milk to be used for cattle feed, the farmers receiving it, and will rely on dairy processing operators offering up information about the milk they supply. 'Luckily most of this information is already recorded – so the requirement should fit with good farm biosecurity practices,' Mackenzie says. To help with the record-keeping, OSPRI has created a template form which can be downloaded from its website. 'When you use our form, you'll be noting down all the information we need to collect, like the date and time of delivery, where the raw milk came from, how it got to your farm and how much was delivered. 'It would also be worthwhile to make notes on sales invoices or receipts for raw milk purchases, the farm diary, or a driver's logbook. 'We need to do the best we can to keep track of all the risks we know of when it comes to extremely tough diseases to fight, like Mackenzie says. Recording these movements could also play an important role in containing and limiting the spread of other infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease or bovine viral diarrhoea.
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
New Legal Requirement To Record Raw Milk Movement
An ongoing risk in the fight to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis has led to some new requirements for raw milk destined to be used as cattle feed. Disease eradication agency OSPRI is alerting farmers to new legal requirements which apply from 1 July 2025 to keep records of the movement of raw milk on and off farm. OSPRI's national manager, Mycoplasma bovis, Mackenzie Nicol, says it's known that M. bovis can spread between properties when raw milk is used for cattle feed, so, from 1 July, the new National Pest Management Plan for requires anyone receiving raw milk on to a farm with the intention of feeding it to cattle, to accurately record it. "Farmers and industry have worked so hard to eradicate what we are doing with this requirement is all about closing one of the last loops, where we know there is risk of disease spread. It makes good sense to be vigilant. "We know this change will affect businesses transporting raw milk to be used for cattle feed, the farmers receiving it, and will rely on dairy processing operators offering up information about the milk they supply. "Luckily most of this information is already recorded - so the requirement should fit with good farm biosecurity practices," Mackenzie says. To help with the record-keeping, OSPRI has created a template form which can be downloaded from its website. "When you use our form, you'll be noting down all the information we need to collect, like the date and time of delivery, where the raw milk came from, how it got to your farm and how much was delivered. "It would also be worthwhile to make notes on sales invoices or receipts for raw milk purchases, the farm diary, or a driver's logbook. "We need to do the best we can to keep track of all the risks we know of when it comes to extremely tough diseases to fight, like Mackenzie says. Recording these movements could also play an important role in containing and limiting the spread of other infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease or bovine viral diarrhoea.
Otago Daily Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Climate resilience high on agenda
Climate resilience is back on the agenda — literally. KPMG has released its 2025 agribusiness agenda which drew on insights from nearly 200 industry leaders and outlined their priorities. Biosecurity remained the number one priority, for the 15th consecutive year, but climate resilience was back in focus — increasing by more than 40% to 18th place, after slipping last year. In his forward, KPMG New Zealand global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot said one of his biggest surprises in last year's report was that the need to proactively consider managed retreat and farm system transition to more climate resilient options was ranked in last place. "To me, it personified a 'nothing to see here' mentality that enables leaders to deprioritise something hard when the burning platform only appears to be smouldering — even if it is widely accepted that it's only a matter of time before the flames flare again. "I recognise that initiating conversations that could lead to fundamental changes in people's lives ... is really hard. However, we don't help ourselves or our communities by avoiding these conversations and tolerating continued piecemeal reaction over a planned, strategic response." Among the global volatility, it was critical for organisations to discern what were shocks — unexpected events that had consequences but did not ultimately change the long-term direction of travel — in comparison to deep shifts in the direction of travel for global society that would continue regardless of shocks. He cited climate change as a good example, as nothing had happened that year or in any recent year that had fundamentally altered the inexorable increase in temperatures and resulting weather consequences. "Factual data from credible agencies shows the trends; the deep shift is unfortunately well-established. The shock is the pushback that is occurring against organisations and individuals that seek to initiate and lead difficult conversations," he said. Biosecurity incursions that year — including the detection of the H7N6 strain of avian influenza in Otago and fruit flies in Auckland suburbs — eliminated any complacency that might have crept into the sector, the report said. Progress made on eliminating tuberculosis and Mycoplasma bovis raised the question for a contributor of what could be possible if the same spirit of collaboration extended into other biosecurity risks. People and workforce issues dominated the top 10 priorities, including immigration settings, migrant worker protections and sector career opportunities. The report highlighted the urgent need to attract and retain talent across the value chain — from on-farm roles to high-tech innovation — with a key focus on ensuring fit-for-purpose, on-the-job training was retained. As global markets were in flux, leaders were also prioritising the signing of high-quality trade agreements and the development of resilient, diversified supply chains. The agenda noted growing interest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and India.
Otago Daily Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Couple's first year on farm working well
PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Water has been feast or famine for Brendan and Avril Lane during their inaugural season on their first dairy farm. The couple milk about 380 crossbred cows on their more than 100ha effective property Matau Farm at Inch Clutha, a delta between the branches of the Clutha River, downstream from Balclutha. The Lane family supplies The a2 Milk Company, which recently gave them $35,000 to launch a sustainability project. Their project aims to increase water-use efficiency on Matau Farm, including the installation of a system to recycle green water from the effluent pond to clean the yard at the milking shed. Matau Farm gets allocated 51,000 litres of water per day through the Bruce Water Scheme, Mr Lane said. "It is quite a constraint for the number of cows we are running here." A new green wash system would allow them to use less water, which would lower the level of the effluent pond. The project outcomes would make the farm more resilient, he said. "Everything that will help us minimise our water use is going to be of a huge benefit to us." Most of the herd had been dried off and produced more than 141,000kg of milksolids on their first season on Inch Clutha. The couple felt fortunate to have worked for people who have helped them progress in the industry to farm ownership. Brendan and Avril Lane have been given $35,000 from the milk company they supply for a project to increase water-use efficiency on their dairy farm at Inch Clutha. PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUE Neither of them had a background in dairy farming. She was raised on a sheep, beef and cropping farm in Scottish town Dunbar, on the coast southeast of Edinburgh. Their business name, Dinnae Ken Ltd, a Scottish phrase for "I don't know" was a nod to their Scottish connection. He was raised on a sheep and beef farm in Waimate, South Canterbury and Moa Flat, West Otago. During his teenage years in West Otago, he gained experience working for "exceptional dairymen" Tony Roberts and the late Noel Caulfield. "That's what planted the seed, those guys and what they could do with cows and their passion for the industry." The pair met when she was on a working holiday in New Zealand and they then travelled abroad together. When they returned home, he worked as assistant manager running a milking shed and a crew for Stewart Eden in Riversdale, Northern Southland for a year in the 2009-10 season. They accepted an offer from Peter Templeton to lower order sharemilk about 360 cows in Kelso, West Otago for about two years from 2011. After that farm sold, they went lower order sharemilking for Murphy Farms Ltd in Waimate for five years from 2013. They accepted an offer to 50:50 sharemilk on a farm in Morven, South Canterbury, which had its herd "wiped out" by Mycoplasma bovis. In Morven, they milked 880 of their own cows on a 230ha farm for six years from 2018. Heavy rain flooded about half of Brendan and Avril Lane's dairy farm at Inch Clutha in October last year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Their herd produced more than 2100kg of milksolids per hectare, about 560kg of milksolids per cow, a "huge" milk production, requiring minimal imported feed due to strong pasture management. "It was an amazing place and super efficient and that got us into a financial position to get us to the next step," Mr Lane said. They took over Matau Farm on June 1 last year. "Inch Clutha is the jewel in the crown of South Otago for growing pasture — it has incredibly fertile soil." The selection process of which 380 cows to take to Inch Clutha from their herd of 880 included selecting those which produce A1 protein-free milk, so they could supply The a2 Milk Company. Early calving cows were selected to maintain natural fertility in the herd. Cows which could handle being milked once-a-day while maintaining production were selected to protect the business if pressure was put on the herd for any reason. Any surplus cows and heifers were either leased or sold. By breeding an efficient herd with "super-high" production and breeding worths had allowed them to progress quickly in the industry. The selection process had resulted in a herd having an 80% six-week in-calf rate and a 7.5% empty rate. Most of their heifers were set to calve on Inch Clutha about July 12 last year, a few weeks earlier than similar herds in South Otago. The first three months' weather on Matau Farm were "amazing" and calving was finished by mid-September. Then the pressure was put on the herd due to more than 200mm of rainfall in 48 hours in early October last year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED More than half of Matau Farm was flooded, he said. Fortuitously, rubber matting was installed across the milking shed, yard and exit race before the deluge, giving the herd somewhere to stand and eat during the flooding. The cows could be fully-fed and maintain production during a time of pressure by being healthy enough to sustain once-a-day milking rather than a twice-a-day. As the cows had proven they could perform the adverse conditions in South Otago, they could easily sell 90 of them to make the most of strong demand for quality cows and to make room for the heifers coming through. "They are great cows we are selling — it is so hard to do." Mrs Lane said as the cows handled the once-a-day milking so well, the frequency had been maintained for all the season. "We carried on because it was good for them and good for us. The cell count was low and there was no lameness, the cows are really happy so we didn't need to change it." Mr Lane said from once-a-day milking, their herd, on average, produced more than 370kg of milksolids per animal, despite 45% of them being heifers. The average milk production in New Zealand is 400kg milksolids per cow. If the milking frequency was increased to twice-a-day to lift production it could come at a cost, such as the health of the herd's feet or reproduction, especially if pressure was put on again. Other benefits of once-a-day milking include having more time to repair fences and pasture and spend with their three sons Cameron, 14, Fergus, 13, and Robbie, 11. "They are great outdoor boys — they love fishing, hunting and motorbikes," Mr Lane said.
