Dairy Exporter August 2020

Page 78

STOCK MYCOPLASMA BOVIS

Biosecurity a priority to combat disease

M

ake biosecurity a top priority during calving this spring, the Mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis) programme partners advise dairy farmers and calf rearers. M. bovis programme director Stuart Anderson said the effort to eradicate M. bovis is making excellent progress, but poor biosecurity practices at calving could result in a long tail of infections, drawing out the eradication process. “There is very little M. bovis infection left in the national herd. Currently, there are just six Active Confirmed Properties, and only two of those have infected cattle still on the farm. “However, if there are just one or two farms that we haven’t found yet they can inadvertently spread the infection around the entire country. Just one untagged or unregistered calf could spread infection to an entire herd, so it’s critical all farmers

Achieving lifetime traceability for our national herd starts at calving. 78

GENERAL BIOSECURITY MEASURES AT CALVING Following these measures will help protect against many diseases including M. bovis.

1. Tag every calf (and put the tag M. bovis Programme director Stuart Anderson.

correctly tag calves, register them in NAIT, and record all movements this spring. “Achieving lifetime traceability for our national herd starts at calving. Accurate NAIT records allow us to quickly track down any calves which have left an infected herd, and to identify all of their close contacts and get them tested to make sure the infection hasn’t spread.” Raw waste milk also creates a high biosecurity risk – and DairyNZ’s advice is that farmers should not feed waste milk to calves. Waste milk can be a source for many diseases and other issues in calves as their systems develop - particularly young calves (up to two-three weeks) who can shed antibiotic-resistant faecal bacteria into the environment. Waste milk should definitely not be fed to bobby calves as the calf’s gut is likely to absorb the antibiotic residues and cause the carcase to be rejected, DairyNZ advises. If you are supplying raw milk to calf rearing operations, the milk should be treated (either pasteurised or treated with citric acid), before it leaves your farm. For advice about how to acidify milk with citric acid, DairyNZ.co.nz You also should keep accurate and up-todate records about what farms you have provided milk to.

in well) that is born on your farm (bobby calves going direct to slaughter are exempt from NAIT requirements, but require a specific tag).

2. Register that calf into the NAIT system against your NAIT number before it is moved off your farm.

3. Record that movement off-farm in the system within 48 hours.

4. Keep groups of calves separate

for 48 hours before mixing them while you observe them for disease.

5. Keep calf rearing facilities and

equipment clean, and limit how many people access calf rearing areas.

6. Get people accessing calf

rearing areas to clean their boots and personal protection equipment (PPE), and any other equipment, and clean them again when they leave.

7. Remove sick calves to a dedicated sick pen.

8. Only buy NAIT-tagged calves

with accurate and up-to-date records, and record their arrival on to your farm.

9. If you sell or give away milk for

feeding calves, keep a record of who the milk went to.

10. Keep accurate records of all

of your financial transactions, including calf sales, just in case you have to make an insurance or biosecurity compensation claim in the future.

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | August 2020


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Articles inside

Environment and animal welfare spur system change

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page 87

Maize silage, the ideal spring supplement

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page 89

Select Hereford bulls on merit

1min
page 88

The secret of MUNBV

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page 86

The lowdown on good silage

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pages 84-85

National dairy trainee winner ‘loves science

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pages 82-83

Proactive leadership proves a winner

5min
pages 80-81

Bone injuries: Broken shoulders in heifers

3min
pages 73-74

DairyNZ: Take care using antibiotics for clinical mastitis

2min
page 75

Mycoplasma bovis: Biosecurity a priority to combat disease

3min
pages 78-79

Milk replacers: To curd or not to curd?

6min
page 77

Great soil and water management wins awards

8min
pages 70-72

Doing what’s right’ for whole farm wins awards

13min
pages 62-66

CO Diary: GoDairy - Helping Kiwis get into dairying

3min
pages 45-46

Co-operative vs corporate governance

3min
pages 60-61

Diversity makes for better decisions

3min
page 59

Good governance structure benefits farm business

8min
pages 47-49

Spreading experience

7min
pages 57-58

Learning to govern effectively

1min
pages 50-51

Cashing-in on the culls

6min
pages 42-44

Shining through the drought

9min
pages 39-41

Covid-19 brought a range of challenges for Bridie Virbickas

3min
pages 14-15

Zanda Award: Winning Coaster champions staff training

10min
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Redesigning workplaces to make them attractive to new workers

2min
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Using a Kanban workplace management system to run a Canterbury farm

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pages 28-34

Global Dairy – Brazil: Dairy farming in a land of contrasts

3min
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Chloe Davidson shares the joys and challenges of relocating business and family

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High standards in a sensitive environment

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Shiralee Seerden welcomes the extra business of a contract milking position

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