Farmers having trouble selling stock because of fears over Mycoplasma bovis are unlikely to see any compensation unless they are directly affected by Ministry for Primary Industries controls.

LIC, the country’s largest supplier of dairy genetics, will test its artificial breeding bulls for Mycoplasma bovis to provide its farmers with greater peace of mind through the dairy mating season.

North Otago is being treated “like the leper colony of the South Island” over the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak, says Federated Farmers North Otago dairy chairman Lyndon Strang.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) hasn’t given up hope of eradicating the bacterial cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis despite its spread to a third South Island farm.

The discovery of the cow disease Mycoplasma bovis in South Canterbury last month again raised concerns among farmers about NZ’s biosecurity measures and responsiveness.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is still assessing the likely means of entry of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis, following its discovery on two dairy farms in the Morven area near Oamaru.

Testing is continuing on 16 Van Leeuwen Dairy Group (VLDG) farms in South Canterbury for the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.