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Cows started keeling over after grazing on swede crops in Southland last August.
It is now four months since Rural News first reported on the deaths of Southland cows on swedes so I thought it would be a good time to determine that the investigation is on track and the correct questions are being asked.
Farmers should be asking that the following tests be done:
• trace element levels in soil, plants and animals;
• blood and urine tests for metabolites of chlorsulfuron and soil tests for chlorsulfuron;
• glyphosate levels in swedes and baleage fed with swedes, given it may have been sprayed before baling;
• comparison of gut biome in affected cows to healthy cows and levels of botulism toxins
The developers of the swedes should also be made to provide all data on the chemically engineered lines, including those showing unintended changes.
Farmers should also be demanding MPI and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) remove these products, HT brassicas and all pesticides used in the production of these crops. The should be withdrawn until they have been found to be safe individually and in combination by long-term animal toxicity tests, undertaken by independent laboratories to ensure there is no hiding of harmful data.
As is happening in China, where the chlorsulfuron has been banned, there should be a review of all licensing of pesticides to prevent these kinds of disasters from happening. The health of this country demands nothing less. Farmers must be at the forefront of this demand, and don’t rely on Federated Farmers to do it for them.
Frank Rowson, Matamata
The unusual pattern of disease and mortality that affected dairy cows grazing on swedes last winter in Southland and Otago was a topic for discussion at the recent New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) dairying conference held in Queenstown.
A talk at the NZVA Dairying for the Future Conference in Queenstown on Friday presented findings on last winter’s swede related deaths.
As in-calf data accumulates across Southland it appears the winter’s widespread swede problem hasn’t had a major impact on reproduction rates.
Blood and autopsy samples from cows that were sick or died after grazing swedes in Southland last winter have confirmed liver damage but the role, or not, of the HT strain of the crop in the epidemic is still unclear.
LIVER DAMAGE is indicated in a DairyNZ analysis of the blood and autopsy samples the industry body collected from dairy cows experiencing ill-health after grazing on swedes in Southland.
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