How to make raw milk reliable for calves
Feeding infected milk is high risk for spreading diseases such as M. bovis.
The Government’s Mycoplasma bovis programme director Simon Andrew says the agriculture sector has continued to make significant progress over 2022.
In his final update for 2022, Andrew says they are on track to clear all confirmed infection which is isolated to a sole pocket in the Wakanui area.
By the end of January 2023, depopulation is scheduled to be completed on all six currently known Active Confirmed properties, and farms covered by the Wakanui Controlled Area Notice will have been destocked, he says.
“Clearing all confirmed cases of infection is an important milestone in the eradication effort.
“Once infection is removed from all active confirmed properties, the Programme will move into a new phase of eradication during which the focus will be gathering evidence that M. bovis is absent from New Zealand.”
Background surveillance (Bulk Tank Milk and National Beef and Drystock Cattle Surveillance) will be key in this phase of the programme, he adds.
It will involve collecting several years of surveillance data in the absence of finding infection to provide confidence that M. bovis is no longer present on New Zealand farms, he says.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.
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.
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