Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
The Canterbury TBfree committee chair Malcolm Gilbert has retired after 15 years in the role.
Gilbert, who farms deer and goats in North Canterbury, says the committee has helped grow awareness of wildlife disease vectors and their potential to spread bovine tuberculosis (TB) rapidly.
“It’s been a big part of my life. I got involved in 1992, when it was the Canterbury regional animal committee.”
He recalls the early TB control effort was ad hoc and depended on local farmers.
“There was no national strategy, so we started voluntary farmer vector control groups which encouraged herd owners to manage and control their own properties. At its peak about 40 farmer voluntary groups were involved.”
Gilbert oversaw 21 of these groups.
“It was only circumstantial evidence we had at the time, but the Animal Health Board (AHB) backed us and provided resources and funding for toxins and traps.”
The farmers persuaded the AHB to research the impact of the large ferret population on the TB cycle in arid North Canterbury. In 2000 the AHB planned a regional strategy, blanking out areas from the coast to the hinterlands, after which livestock infections fell as more farmers killed vectors and promoted TB management in their areas.
“We targeted hunters as we discovered pig waste was another route for ferrets to get infected and this was a threat to the blocks of land we had under control.
“We supported pig hunts and informed hunters about wildlife vector control and how they could help.”
“There used to be 167 infected herds in our region, so we’ve progressed.”
Still, we have a way to go nationally. It’s important not to forget the “hard times” so that the younger generations stay on track to reach those milestones and objectives.
“That’s the challenge, as farmers tend to focus on the here and now.”
Gilbert says the Mycoplasma bovis response could benefit from following the model of the TBfree committees. He says farmers should help make decisions.
Gilbert is a salmon fisher and hunter and will continue deer velveting for a few years.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is…
OPINION: Once upon a time the Fieldays were for real farmers, salt of the earth people who thrived on hard…