Early Weaning Lambs: What the Massey Trials Found
Farmers with high-quality feed available in late spring could consider weaning at least a proportion of their lamb crop early to benefit both lambs and ewes.
LIC chief executive David Chin says farmers are doing a great job in tackling BVD, pointing out that when LIC launched BVD testing in 2009, the percentage of herds with a positive BVD animal was as high as 29% in some regions. That figure is now down to under 5%.
He attributes this to many years of Kiwi dairy farmers “doing the hard graft of testing, culling and staying on top of it”.
“BVD has been a handbrake on productivity in this country for too long. This is proof we can take that handbrake off,” he told Dairy News.
The NZ dairy industry is a world leader when it comes to eradicating and containing diseases. It eradicated Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL), which caused cancerous tumours in cows, in 2009 from a 12-year campaign.
The industry remains on track to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis by 2028 after a 10-year campaign
LIC, though its growing diagnostics testing business, monitors diseases like BVD.
“We are not seeing the rates of infection that we were when we first started the scheme,” says Chin.
“We’ve got that prevalence down to such a low level.
“Why don’t we get together and eradicate this disease? It’s yet another thing we don’t have to worry about on farm. I think it’s absolutely possible.”
Chin points to the industry’s track record in dealing with diseases.
“We’ve eradicated EBL from the herds. That’s a disease which causes cancerous lymphoma. We’ve done a great job of M. bovis.
“No one in the world thought that you could eliminate M. bovis. I reckon we’re almost there: we’re not seeing positive bulk milk tests.
“BVD would seem to me to be the next thing that we can eliminate.”
If achieved, a BVD-free herd would save the country nearly $200 million a year, according to a report from the BVD Free Committee.
Chin believes eradicating BVD should be on everyone’s agenda.
Farmers also need to be vigilant. For example, if they bring in a natural mating bull with BVD, the disease can spread through the herd. Once BVD returns, a farmer needs to start all over again to eradicate the disease from the farm.
Chin says every farmer he speaks to wants to eradicate BVD.
He attributes the success with tackling BVD so far to good understanding between farmers, vets, and the testers about what’s required.
Chin adds that BVD is a relatively straightforward disease to get rid of.
“And we’ve evolved the testing: we’ve gone from individual animal testing to bulk milk testing.
“So, we’ve got monitor programs in place already. Farmers already see the value of doing it.”
His message to farmers is to insist on a BVD test before buying a bull.
“Farmers must say that if you’re selling me bulls, I’m not even looking at them unless you confirm a BVD test.
“That’s just what’s required now. It’s like when you’re buying a car, it’s just got to have a seatbelt. It’s not a thing that we want to negotiate on.”
