Thursday, 20 September 2018 09:19

Only two regions disease-free

Written by 

37 farms have been confirmed as infected with Mycoplasma bovis by the Ministry for Primary Industries — eight in the North Island and 29 in the South.

Twenty-one are beef farms, 14 dairy and two are “others.” Including those infected farms, 58 are now listed as ‘restricted places’. 

Notices of direction (NOD), which restrict some movement of stock from farms and are usually applied to farms where test results are pending, are in place on 190 properties.

A Biosecurity NZ map of the M. bovis spread indicates that only the Bay of Plenty and Marlborough remain free of the disease, with neither RP notices nor NODs in force.

Taranaki and the South Island West Coast have farms under NODs but as yet no confirmed infection. MPI says 70 - 80% of NODs do not go on to prove infected.

Meanwhile, MPI says eradication continues, with 30 farms now cleaned and depopulated and free to resume operation with new stock.

Simple steps

MPI is calling on farmers to adopt robust biosecurity practices. Simple steps farmers can take include:

- carefully consider the disease status of new stock before animals are bought or moved

- ensure visitors clean and disinfect their equipment, clothing and footwear on arrival at a farm

- make boundary fences secure and prevent nose-to-nose contact with neighbouring stock

- give young calves special protection, allowing only essential people into the calf shed.

More like this

Editorial: Agri's mojo is back

OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.

Featured

Horticulture exports hit $8.4B, surge toward $10B by 2029

A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Be afraid

OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the recent uptick in farmer confidence has slipped since the political polls started…

Trust us!

OPINION: Ther'es a reason politicians rank even lower than John Campbell in the most trusted profession surveys.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter