Stock returning from grazing?

Animals grazing on a different property may have a different health status to animals grazing at home, even if you still own the animals. Health status is determined by the associations animals have with each other, their environment, and how they’re managed, rather than by ownership.

Most animal diseases are spread through close contact between infected animals and non-infected animals. If animals sourced from different farms are grazing on the same property and have close contact, there’s potential for disease to spread. Each source farm is likely to have a different health status.

Steps to reduce risk

To help minimise the spread of disease:

• separate grazing groups by using double fencing or an empty paddock between them
• stagger your use of yards so different groups come in at different times
• ensure boundary fences are secure
• keep equipment used for treating animals clean and disinfected.

These jobs belong to the person who manages your farm on a day-to-day basis. We’ve outlined some other key steps you can take in the sections below.

Also, remember to ensure all animals have the correct NAIT tags, are registered in NAIT and that their movements are recorded.

Talk to your grazier

If your stock are away for grazing, have a conversation with the grazier to understand how they manage your animals, and if there have been any animal health issues while your animals are under their care.

Avoid mixing stock during transport

If your animals are being trucked home, make sure they don’t pass through other places where animals can mix, such as sale yards. It’s also best if they’re not sharing the truck with stock from another farm.

Quarantine returning animals

In all cases, DairyNZ recommends you keep returning animals separate to the main herd for at least seven days after arrival. This gives your animals a chance to settle into their new environment. It also gives you time to check their health status and, if necessary, undertake any animal health treatments, such as drenching or vaccination.

Moving day – shifting your herd

As moving day approaches and you plan to move your cattle to a new farm, focus on preventing contact with cattle from other herds.

• Steps to take before moving day

  1. If you are moving to a new dairy farm, ask the farm owner if there are any bovis bulk milk test results from the past season. Ask about cow and calf health on the farm in the past season, using the pre-purchase checklist. Also ask about stock movements on and off the property in the past couple of years.
     
     
  2. If you are moving stock along a roadway and there are cattle in paddocks along the road, talk to the farmers along the way and ask if they could move their cattle to other paddocks away from the road on the day that you are moving your cattle. If that’s not possible, ask if they could put up an electric break fence inside their boundary to create a two metre buffer zone. Taking these precautions protects everyone from direct contact.
     
     
  3. If you are moving your stock on trucks, talk to your transport operator about your expectations and come to a mutual agreement about what can be achieved to protect your cattle from disease exposure.
     1. Expect a clean truck or trucks to pick up your stock. It is more important that the truck is clean inside than outside for bovis.
     2. The truck or trucks should be dedicated to your job until all of your animals are moved. No backloads and no stock from other sources should be on the truck until after your animals are moved.
     3. If it is only your cattle on the truck(s), there is no need to ask that the trucks be cleaned between loads.
     4. Remember that transport operators are under time constraints and are also working under limitations around water, wash facilities, and effluent disposal sites. You have the right to expect good biosecurity for your stock, but we all have to work together around what is practical and reasonable.
        
        
  4. Yards are a risk for transfer of disease when they are under heavy use and when there is mixing of cattle from multiple sources in holding yards. If cattle from another herd are departing on the day you plan to arrive, try to allow as much time as possible for sun and wind to kill bacteria before your cattle come through the yards. Disinfectant spray can be used, but remember that disinfection really only works on clean surfaces. If it can’t be cleaned, there isn’t much point in disinfecting it.
     
     
  5. Plan where your cattle will go on the new farm for the first week. Check the fences and make sure there is no chance that your cattle will come into contact with neighbouring cattle.

   

• On moving day

  With good advanced planning, moving day will go smoothly. It is critical that all of your cattle have NAIT tags and that you record all movements.

Protect your farm and animals

You can protect your farm and animals by undertaking some simple biosecurity practices on farm.

Complete the Biosecurity WOF, developed with farmers and vets, work through this guide and develop on on-farm biosecurity plan.

The biggest risk for spread of M. bovis is through direct animal contact, focus on preventing contact with cattle from other herds. If purchasing new stock, read the pre-purchase checklist.

Complete NAIT records

Always complete your NAIT records and make sure if you have had movement over the last month they are correctly recorded. Knowing where your cows have been is crucial to understanding and preventing the spread of disease.

Grazing

If moving animals for grazing - check the grazing property’s biosecurity health status. All M. bovis infected properties are under Restricted Place Notices under the Biosecurity Act. Ensure that the grazing property has good biosecurity measures in place, such as preventing your stock from having nose to nose contact with stock on the farm or neighbouring properties.

Fencing

Check your boundary fences are secure

Put in double fencing at least two metres apart to stop nose to nose contact between you and your neighbour’s stock. Permanent is best but in the short term it can be simply putting a reel up if your neighbour’s stock are going to be in the adjacent paddock.

Feed

If bringing in supplementary feed - there is no risk of M. bovis infection from bringing in hay or baleage from uninfected farms. If the feed is coming from a farm under a Notice of Direction or a Restricted Place Notice, confirm that it meets any conditions on the Notice.

Contractors and machinery on farm

The risk of spreading M. bovis bacteria between farms on machinery is low. However, it is good biosecurity practice to have a “clean on, clean off” policy for both machinery and people, which will protect your farm business from weeds, pests, and diseases. You should expect machinery to arrive clean to your property, and expect the machinery to be cleaned before it leaves your property for the next job. Disinfection should be used after cleaning on equipment and boots/gear that have been in contact with stock and/or effluent. Check out the cleaning and disinfection poster for more information.

What is Mycoplasma bovis?

• is a bacterial disease
• is commonly found in cattle all over the world, including in Australia
• it does not infect humans and presents no food safety risk. There is no concern about eating meat, milk and milk products
• it does lead to serious conditions in cattle and therefore constitutes an animal welfare and productivity issue
• it spreads from animal to animal through close contact. Between farms it spreads through the movement of animals that are infected but may not be showing symptoms. It is also potentially spread on contaminated equipment and the feeding of untreated milk to calves. It is not windborne.
• while some of the conditions can be treated, affected cattle will always be carriers of the disease
• the disease does not affect sheep or cause illness in goats although it is thought goats could carry and transmit it.

How does it affect cows?

• untreatable mastitis in dairy and beef cows
• severe pneumonia in up to 30% of infected calves, starting as a hacking cough
• ear infections in calves, the first sign typically being one droopy ear, progressing to ear discharges and in some cases a head tilt
• abortions
• swollen joints and lameness (severe arthritis/synovitis) in all ages of cattle
• know the signs to look out for, download the 'Signs to look out for' poster. If stock show unusual levels of mastitis, abortions or present with arthritis or pneumonia, contact your vet.

Working to eradicate M. bovis

The decision has been made to continue to focus on eradicating M. bovis from New Zealand. We believe that we have a chance to get rid of it for good by undertaking phased eradication.

Phased eradication will mean continuing to trace all potentially affected cattle, and testing and culling those herds with infected animals in them. This will continue until regular surveillance finds no further evidence of the disease. By phased, we mean that it will take place over a number of years. We expect to do most of the eradication work in 1-2 years. It will be done in cooperation with affected farmers to allow flexibility around timing of culling to offset production losses.

Read more about the decision to eradicate and what it means for you.

M. bovis compensation

If you are a farmer directly affected by M. bovis, we have a a team that can help you with compensation.

The DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ Compensation Assistance Team can help you with:

• understanding whether you are eligible for compensation
• clarify what losses you can claim for
• working through the compensation claim forms with you
• supporting you through the compensation claim process

This is a free service that is supported by MPI, run independently by DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ.

Call us on 0800 322 281 and we will put you in touch with a compensation assistant to help step you through the process and ensure you have the answers you need. Alternatively you can email the team at dbcat@dairynz.co.nz or dbcat@beeflambnz.com.

To help you with your compensation claim check out the M. bovis Compensation Guide.

Resources

• Looking to buy more cattle? Read the M. bovis pre-purchase checklist
• Mycoplasma bovis advice on using imported or local semen 
• Managing service bulls
• Minimising the risks from Mycoplasma bovis at cattle shows and events
• M. bovis - calf club day advice

Sign up for Mycoplasma bovis email updates here

If you are a farmer affected by the M. bovis response, you can find out more about the response on the MPI website.