State-owned AgResearch says it is working on developing new methods to detect diseases like Mycoplasma bovis hidden at very low levels in livestock.

Fewer than 40% of New Zealanders know what biosecurity means and only a mere 2% say it is relevant to them.

Researchers at Livestock Improvement Corp (LIC) are working with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to piece together a genetic jigsaw of 15 million pieces.

Consider some new year resolutions as you work the land. And treat your farm as a biosecurity fortress, with its defences tightened to shut out pest and disease threats.

In the wake of the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak, one of New Zealand’s main bull semen suppliers is calling for an industry body to be set up to implement country-wide testing and biosecurity standards.

High yielding and palatable, fodder beet allows the wintering of large numbers of sheep in a small area and frees pasture elsewhere on a farm.

Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against life-threatening diseases such as distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis that affect New Zealand animals.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is satisfied with both the sheep and beef industries’ approaches to breeding with respect to animal welfare issues.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is concerned the dairy industry has the ability to select for polledness (no horns), but it is not a priority.

Almost $1 million will go to projects aimed at combating animal diseases from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Farming Fund.