increase font size
OSPRI has taken over day-to-day operational and disease control functions of the M. bovis programme.
From this month OSPRI took over day-to-day operational and disease control functions of the Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) programme.
This means OSPRI will now be responsible for testing farms, the two background surveillance programmes, managing the current active confirmed property and any newly detected farms, depopulation of infected farms, or trace animals and supporting affected farmers.
Programme partners, Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Beef + Lamb New Zealand and DairyNZ, will continue to govern and monitor the programme's progress. MPI will retain non-operational aspects of the programme, including compensation, and any necessary compliance action.
OSPRI says the change does not affect farmers and M. bovis levies will not change.
The programme is now more than halfway into an estimated 10-year plan to eradicate M. bovis. The number of infected properties has fallen to very low levels and the major activity of the programme in coming years will be national surveillance of New Zealand's cattle herd. Moving operations from MPI to OSPRI at this stage of the eradication effort is said to provide the best value for the programme funders and farmers.
OSPRI says its proven regional management model reflects its experience in surveillance and disease control.
“The natural synergies between the M. bovis programme and our NAIT and the TBFree programmes will help us achieve operational efficiencies.
“A significant portion of our M. bovis team is coming over from MPI, bringing invaluable programme knowledge to our organisation.”
The M. bovis programme is being administered under a Government Industry Agreement (GIA) between the three partners.
A proposal is under way to change the administration model to a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) — the same model used for bovine tuberculosis (TB). The proposal nominates OSPRI as the lead agency to deliver the programme for the remainder of the eradication plan.
Public submissions on the draft proposal closed in October 2023. The final proposal is expected to be submitted to the Government for review in 2024.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is sometimes viewed as a dairy industry issue, but the reality is that the disease can have serious consequences for beef breeding herds as well.
Animal health company Bovonic is gearing up for its next stage of growth after increasing New Zealand sales of QuadSense by more than 50% in the last 12 months, including a record quarter for the business this year.
With lambing underway in many regions, Beef + Lamb New Zealand is encouraging farmers to put together a wellequipped lambing kit to help minimise lamb losses, particularly in bad weather.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) remains one of the most significant infectious diseases affecting New Zealand dairy herds.
Pāmu has released its FY26 Integrated Annual Report, reporting a Net Operating Profit of $113 million, more than double the $49 million recorded in FY25.
Meat Industry Association data, released alongside the Red Meat Sector conference in Wellington, shows export value climbing across the US, China, UK and Canada.
Applications are set to open for the 2027 Zanda McDonald Award, a trans-Tasman award recognised for identifying and fast-tracking talented young leaders in agriculture and agribusiness.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
