increase font size
Kevin Forward says poor NAIT record keeping can lead to delays in the response and increased spread of the disease.
OSPRI New Zealand says - following the resurgence of M. bovis in Mid Canterbury in late 2022, and concerns raised over poor NAIT record keeping and non-compliance - it is increasing its level of education and support to farmers in the region.
OSPRI's head of traceability, Kevin Forward says the organisation is committed to supporting farmers to understand their NAIT obligations and the importance of adopting good on-farm traceability practices as part of their overall biosecurity preparedness.
"The ability to manage a disease outbreak, contain it, and work towards its eradication relies on accurate traceabilit records," he explains. "Simply put, we all have a role to play when talking traceability and biosecurity, everyone must do their part for the system to work and for the industry to be protected."
He points out that poor NAIT record keeping can lead to delays in the response, increased spread of the disease and increased cost to farmers and the country.
Forward says OSPRI had launched a targeted support campaign to farmers in the Wakanui area.
It aims to help farmers get their NAIT accounts sorted and OSPRI is launching a NAIT education campaign in the greater Ashburton district.
OSPRI's local regional partner, Fiona Caldwell will be running a series of NAIT workshops, drop-in centres, and webinars for farmers to help them understand their NAIT obligations and why traceability is important.
In addition to this, OSPRI and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will be piloting an early intervention programme for those farmers in the region who are identified as not meeting their NAIT obligations.
The purpos of the early intervention programme is to reach out to farmers to offer support and education, so they understand what their NAIT obligations are, as a person in charge of animals, and know where to get help.
"We're trying to support farmers so they can avoid getting to the point where they're receiving infringements or being prosecuted for non-compliance with NAIT," Forward says.
"Now is not the time to be getting complacent, we need to be thinking not only about the diseases that we are trying to eradicate currently, but also about what could potentially hit us next. We've spent over five years working to eradicate M. bovis from New Zealand, that's a lot of hard work that the industry and individual farmers have all put in. The same applies for bovine TB, except over a longer period."
For more information: https://www.ospri.co.nz/news/lets-protect-our-industry-mid-canterbury/
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.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
OPINION: The Greens have taken the high moral ground on the Palestine issue and been leading political agitators in related…
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact…
