14 minute read
Opinion
40 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – June 20, 2022
Opinion
Biosecurity systems make gains
Alternative View
Alan Emerson
THE news that there is a Foot and Mouth outbreak in Indonesia is disconcerting.
Although it provides no immediate threat to New Zealand, Indonesia has been clear of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) since 1986.
It also comes at a time when we’re opening our borders, with the increased risk that involves.
As we all know NZ makes the vast majority of its income by producing and exporting food and any biosecurity incursion puts that at risk.
It is, therefore, good to see an increase of $42.9 million for biosecurity in this year’s budget.
We have a good system now but that will make it better.
There’s also an additional $68m for Mycoplasma bovis (M bovis) eradication and that, despite a bumpy start, has been a real success story.
It hasn’t come cheaply with $635.9m spent so far and 172,422 cattle having been culled.
In addition, 267 farms have been confirmed properties with 2342 having been placed under Notice of Direction.
The disruption caused by the virus has been considerable.
The other alternative was to live with the disease at an original cost estimate of $1.2 billion.
It’s important to remember that M bovis is in most countries and accepted as such.
In NZ we decided to eradicate it.
It was a brave call and the right one.
What has been interesting is the full review of the incursion that has been undertaken.
The Government appointed a small team to do that review consisting of Professors Nicola Shadbolt and Caroline Saunders, disease management expert Dr Roger Paskin and Southland farmer, entrepreneur and financier Tony Cleland.
I thought they did an excellent job that will assist with future incursions.
Their report is available on the Ministry for Primary Industries website and worth a read.
Simply, the review points out that the reaction was shambolic at the start of the incursion.
In addition, and surprisingly so in my view, it decided that biosecurity systems in place at the start of the incursion weren’t fit for purpose.
A comprehensive communications strategy was also lacking.
That view was supported by then Federated Farmers president Katie Milne, who was there at the start but was “removed” because she felt she asked too many hard questions.
The committee had decided that those funding the exercise, DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb NZ, should only be at the governance table.
Milne made the point that the money involved was farmers’ whatever way you considered it, but that point didn’t register.
She believed the committee’s actions were “an old boys club shut-out”.
That move by the old boys obviously contributed to the shambolic start the review committee found.
At the end of the day we did, by whatever route, get rid of M bovis.
The only country in the world to do so.
M bovis arrived in NZ in July 2017 ahead of the late September 2017 general election that brought a Labour, NZ First Government.
The person responsible for picking up the pieces in October 2017 was Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
He’d immediately decided that a disease manageable in the Northern Hemisphere would create chaos here.
We have top producing animals that like top athletes are easily stressed.
That would make them vulnerable to M bovis.
“The timing wasn’t easy,” O’Connor said.
“We came to power and there was little debate. Cabinet accepted my recommendations and we got onto it.
“An early decision was to get industry involved and not to leave the decisions to me and officials. We needed farmers on the ground and that was a key part of our success.
“It quickly became apparent that the Nait system wasn’t up to scratch. I’m happy where we’re at now.
“Biosecurity is where I’m at. We’re continuing to ramp it up. The increase in trade and people movement is equal to an everincreasing risk from a biosecurity perspective.
“Lots of New Zealander’s have got in behind the eradication process and I’m really pleased with what we’ve achieved.”
He should be.
The review makes some additional and reassuring points.
It believes the lessons learned from managing the M bovis incursion should be treated as a significant opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity preparedness.
I totally agree.
“The panel is confident that the lessons leant from M bovis, if acted upon, will enable NZ to have a far stronger biosecurity preparedness platform for future animal disease incursions.”
That’s important.
I fully accept that there have been many farmers hugely affected by the M bovis incursion.
It must be absolutely gutting to develop a high producing herd and then have to cull it.
No amount of money can compensate for that.
The fact is no-one invited M bovis here, it arrived.
What is fortunate is that we had a Minister who understood the issue and acted, officials who stepped up and a sector that after a rusty start united to irradicate the problem.
GOT THERE: Professor Nicola Shadbolt was on the team that reviewed New Zealand’s Mycoplasma bovis response, which while having its issues was ultimately a success.
A caper around the bay
RECENTLY I attended a great Hawke’s Bay Farm Forestry field day at Te Awanga.
It’s not somewhere most of you will have heard of but it’s a small area well worth visiting next time you are in this part of the world.
You will have seen it across the bay if you’ve stood on the Napier foreshore and gazed across towards Cape Kidnappers.
Cape Kidnappers is also known as Te Kauwae-a-Māui or the fishhook of Māui given its shape.
Māori legend has it that Maui’s brothers wouldn’t give him a fishhook or bait, so he made one out of the jawbone of his grandmother, punched himself on the nose and smeared it on the hook for bait and then caught a great fish that turned out to be the North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui.
The hook turned into the coastline of Hawke Bay and no fishing story since has ever bettered this one.
The eastern route from Napier towards Hastings runs alongside the sea as you pass the long line of Norfolk Pines then you turn towards the Cape at Clive or Mangateretere.
As I cross the bridge over the TukiTuki, I like to look down to where this river that runs through my own part of the world meets the sea.
I once walked to the source of the TukiTuki high in the Ruahine Ranges and further up delighted standing on the main divide and being able to send half a piddle towards the Pacific Ocean down this river system and the other half towards the Manawatū catchment which then cuts through the main divide and ends up in the Tasman.
Just over the bridge is the small coastal settlement of Haumoana.
Many of the shore-based houses here and further along at Te Awanga and Clifton are succumbing to the effects of coastal erosion as the sea takes back for itself up to half a metre a year.
When I was a kid, all the land on the other side of the road was farmland but now it is houses, lifestyle blocks, vineyards, and wineries.
Not far past Te Awanga the road finishes at Clifton.
Several times, I’ve taken guests on my farmbike from there along the beach right around to the cape itself and we’ve climbed up to spend an entrancing time watching the gannets that nest there.
This is the largest gannet mainland nesting site in the world and hosts up to 20,000 of them at peak times.
The other great attraction from Clifton is the Cape Kidnappers Golf Course.
I’ve played there three times, never had a decent score as its so tough, but some of my favourite days ever given the views and the course itself finished off with a hot shower and a cold beer in the wonderful club house.
But this day I was here as I’d never had the opportunity to explore Clifton Station.
The Gordon family were our hosts and the fifth and sixth generation to be now farming this historic farm.
Angus has become a historian and written three popular books which have preserved some of the history of this part of the world.
We drove up through the farm past their latest initiative, a couple of glamping sites onto the hills that gave stunning views across the sea of Hawke Bay to Mahia, Napier, inland Hawke’s Bay and the back of Te Mata Peak.
We viewed and discussed their various plantings which as well as the ubiquitous radiata included several species of Eucalyptus as well as a variety of other species.
They are steadily fencing off and planting their streams and wetland areas.
They have regular help from one of the local high school’s agricultural classes to help with this and other farm chores.
I was surprised to see a Kaka fly overhead and the Gordons told us of the spill over of species that originated from Cape Sanctuary next door.
We could see the predator fence that protects 2500ha of the end of the cape and has been a huge but beneficial undertaking by the Lowe and Robertson families.
Within they are establishing populations of Kiwi, Saddleback, Kaka, Takahe, Tuatara and a host of other species assisted by a massive native planting program.
A remarkable commitment to conservation.
After our visit to Clifton Station, we travelled the short distance to the Nilsson’s property of Te Awanga Downs to have lunch at the iconic Clifton Cricket ground.
Nestled in a natural amphitheatre, this quirky cricket ground with its gentle slope has seen many fine cricketing battles.
The cricket club and community are also combining to plant the waterways to enhance biodiversity and are also seeing spill over of species from the cape as the habitat improves.
This contained area of Hawke’s Bay is a terrific example of what can be achieved in terms of conservation when private landowners, the regional council, Government agencies and the community come together with a common goal of making the world a better place.
Your View
Alan Emerson is a semi-retired Wairarapa farmer and businessman: dath.emerson@gmail.com
From the Ridge
Steve Wyn-Harris
MILK NOT MEAT: Dairy cattle have been selected over generations for their ability to convert grass into milk rather than muscle, meat yield and the correct feed conversion for prime beef production, although Jerseys, pictured, rank well for marbling and some Holstein Friesian genetics exhibit meat quality.
Dairy beef poised for growth
Meaty Matters
Allan Barber
FEED represents more than 70% of the cost of beef production, which makes feed conversion efficiency an essential component of farm profitability. But there is substantial performance variability across the herd that can be significantly improved by measuring it and the use of genomic testing to sort out the relative efficiency of the cattle.
American precision livestock company Vytelle has conducted a study of 49,910 animals that demonstrates the opportunity to improve residual feed intake (RFI), which is a moderately heritable trait.
The study shows a mean of 7.3kg of feed (dry matter) intake for each 1kg of weight gain, but 11% of the population required less than 5kg, while a 10% improvement in RFI produced 43% higher profit.
In contrast, 10% higher average daily weight gain only improved profit by 18%.
As the traditional production of beef cattle comes under threat from land use change, consumer desire for smaller and less costly cuts, and environmental pressures, it will be necessary to look at more efficient use of resources.
This will mean lifting the overall average performance of the beef herd through better selection, culminating in faster weight gain and an earlier slaughter age.
The dairy industry has long been a source of prime and bull calves entering the beef industry, but the quality of dairy beef from a meat and feed conversion perspective has been variable.
Dairy farmers want to get nonreplacement and bull calves off the farm as quickly as possible, while calf rearers have found the market very unpredictable with no guarantee they will be able to make their desired margin when they come to the point of selling them to a finisher.
But there are signs this may be about to change.
Fifth generation Hawke’s Bay based beef breeders Rissington Cattle Company are convinced a coincidence of regulatory and market dynamics, combined with new and improved technologies, will drive unprecedented growth in the dairy beef industry.
Rissington is also the only Vytelle system to measure feed efficiency in NZ.
They see seven factors that will accelerate the pace of change: a slow decline in the national dairy herd; sexed semen that will reduce the number of dairy cows needed to generate replacements and produce genetic gains; the ban on live exports of dairy and beef heifers; animal welfare concerns; new DNA tools to identify more efficient beef sires for use with nonreplacement dairy cows; reduction of environmental footprint by replacing low performance beef cows or sheep and achieving earlier finishing; and minimising disposal costs of non-replacement calves.
There is no reason prime beef farmers cannot take advantage of the newest and best genetics to improve the quality of traditional beef herds, although they may be able to generate the best returns from using their best bulls to improve the beef producing characteristics of dairy cows.
But Rissington’s executive director Jeremy Absolom maintains the dairy industry will largely drive the future beef industry, both out of necessity – what to do with the surplus non-replacement cows – and from dairy’s greater willingness to leverage new technology.
There is of course the small problem of dairy cows’ unsuitability for beef production.
Dairy cattle have been selected over generations for their ability to convert grass into milk rather than muscle, meat yield and the correct feed conversion for prime beef production, although Jerseys rank well for marbling and some Holstein Friesian genetics exhibit meat quality.
At this point the main weaknesses of non-replacement dairy cows for prime beef are carcase yield, muscle shape, and feed efficiency.
These can be improved by careful selection of appropriate beef genetics, while retaining the desired characteristics of easy calving, high days in milk and short gestation, no dehorning requirement, and marbling.
In response to the obvious question about the current volatility of the calf rearing link in the chain, Absolom is adamant the dairy beef industry is poised to make a comeback and this will be the responsibility of the dairy farmer in the first instance, not the beef breeder.
Dairy farming company Southern Pastures recognises the importance of managing its business with careful consideration for animal welfare, environmental footprint, and productivity.
The company is working closely with LIC and Rissington to identify the right beef genetics in combination with technologies such as sexed semen and whole herd mating to AI.
This will result in fewer bulls needed for natural service on farm with gains in animal welfare, GHGs and human safety.
In the past, 5-10% of calves have been targeted for beef production, but the intention is to increase this proportion to 50% or more, focusing on the animals that exhibit the best traits for marbling, pH, muscle development and fast growth.
The objective is to achieve greater efficiencies, reduce GHGs and channel all calves born towards the outcome best suited for a productive life.
Ideally, the end result will be an improvement in feed conversion for both the dairy and beef industries.
Southern Pastures applies a strong partnership approach to its business that will be an essential feature of its dairy beef raising ambitions.
Rissington’s Profit Maker bull semen and service bulls will produce 750 beef calves over non-dairy replacements in the spring, of which the company will put half with calf rearers and keep half to rear and finish on its farms, so it can measure the herd performance in combination with Rissington and LIC.
This is likely to be the case for at least two breeding seasons, while a viable pathway for the dairy beef business is established.
This initiative is still in its early stages and there are several moving parts which must be coordinated – beef trait heritability, feed conversion efficiency, an effective supply chain from rearing to finishing, integrating a beef breeding operation into a dairy business, and no doubt others.
But credit must go to the partners in this venture for tackling a difficult intersection of the beef and dairy sectors where each side has much to gain from a constructive outcome.
