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.
Milton dairy farmer Chris Wills says he began using probiotics in spring 2023 to address somatic cell count (SCC) grades when cows transitioned from their winter barn to lush spring pasture.
Treat your farm boundary like a border. This was one of the messages delivered to farmers at a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand Protect Your Patch workshop in Lincoln.
Feeding infected milk is high risk for spreading diseases such as M. bovis.
To ensure optimal growth, health, and wellbeing of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
