increase font size
Farmers in and around the Taihape /Hunterville regions of the North Island are being warned to watch for signs of facial eczema (FE).
Local vet and farm consultant Martin Walshe says the area has had more heat and humidity than is normal for this time of year.
Walshe has done spore counts in the last few days and, while these are not at dangerous levels, they are higher than he would expect for this time of the year.
“These are like Waikato conditions. If we get continued heat with moisture through February it’s probably going to be one the threats farmers in this area are going to have to deal with,” he says.
Walshe says FE does not occur annually in his area but there was a major outbreak about three years ago in April which hit farmers badly. He concedes – given that FE is not common in the region – it is hard to justify spending a lot of money on monitoring.
“But given this situation now, farmers should take some spore counts on their properties to see where things are and working out grazing policies,” he told Rural News.
“For example, if they have crops these could be saved so that if FE does occur it will give them breathing space. Then there is the obvious option of using zinc, by spraying or by using a bolus.”
Walshe says farmers may also consider selling store lambs a bit earlier and getting $100 now rather than waiting for prices to rise slightly but facing the risk of losing lambs to FE.
Scanning is a great time to start identifying and managing groups of ewes based on feeding priorities. Wormwise's Mary Bowron discusses some of the possible reasons ewes lose condition in early winter - and it's not necessarily internal parasites.
The Eliminating Facial Eczema Impacts programme recently hosted a webinar about the progress the sheep poo study has made in helping understand facial eczema (FE).
Recent rainfall has made for a fantastic growing season in many regions, but farmers are also reporting a proliferation in pests and diseases such as facial eczema, flystrike, porina and internal parasites.
As we move towards the warmer, more humid months, farmers across New Zealand are already preparing for the annual challenge of facial eczema (FE).
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
Pāmu has released its FY26 Integrated Annual Report, reporting a Net Operating Profit of $113 million, more than double the $49 million recorded in FY25.
Meat Industry Association data, released alongside the Red Meat Sector conference in Wellington, shows export value climbing across the US, China, UK and Canada.
Applications are set to open for the 2027 Zanda McDonald Award, a trans-Tasman award recognised for identifying and fast-tracking talented young leaders in agriculture and agribusiness.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…
