Friday, March 29, 2024

Facing up to FE

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Facial eczema (FE) is a difficult and costly disease to control. However, some farmers are fighting back with genetics using FE-tolerant rams to prevent the disease taking a toll on their sheep production.
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Rob Andrews manages Matariki Partnership at Ruatoria, a 1400ha effective farm north of Gisborne.

Andrews introduced rams tested for FE tolerance and bred by Piquet Hill Stud – a member of the FE Gold group – four years ago. The maternal composite rams are used over all of Matariki’s 3500 breeding ewes.

Andrews was aiming to combat FE problems but to also lift lamb production by using the composite rams. The genetics have helped him achieve both.

“We’re getting less and less FE now. When we started we still had a bit in our older sheep but now these genetics are through most of the flock.”

This year Matariki had eight ewes showing signs of eczema – not too bad considering the high challenge.

“It was a shocking season for facial eczema – all the conditions were right.”

Andrews still uses grazing management to help prevent any FE outbreaks.

“We pick out our high-risk areas and selectively graze.”

This means either avoiding grazing sheep on high-risk areas at peak times or, if he does choose to run sheep there, ensuring it is stocked lightly and not overgrazed.

Ewe hoggets have added protection while they are being grown out on lucerne crops, which are generally safe from FE.

Further down the east coast at Tolaga Bay, Jeremy Murphy believes breeding with FE-tolerant genetics is the only way to effectively minimise damage from the disease.

Facial eczema can be a big problem on 480ha effective Maikaika Station. FE-tolerant rams are used over about half of the 1600 breeding ewes with the remainder mated to a terminal sire.

Lamb numbers have lifted by 30% as a result of using FE tolerant genetics, Murphy said.

“I think that’s because the ewes are healthier and cycle better.”

In a bad year they might still see up to 10 sheep showing clinical signs of the disease.

All lambs are finished on grass and about 2500 trade lambs are bought in to finish over winter.

 The risk period has usually passed by the time trade lambs arrive but as a precaution Murphy does try to source lambs from areas where they might have faced at least a slight FE challenge and hopefully developed some level of resistance.

At Tuakau, south of Auckland, Kim Robinson has been using FE-tolerant rams for 25 years.

Robinson is the general manager of 3563ha Lochiel Farm Lands. Of 11,000 breeding ewes, 2500 are mated to a terminal sire and the rest to FE-tolerant rams.

“From January to the end of March is a very tough time here with humidity,” Robinson said.

“It’s very hard to put all your sheep in the areas of the farm that are not prone to FE.”

He said the investment in FE tolerant genetics was paying off with very few cases of the disease on the farm now and fewer sheep losses.

“I think it’s limiting our lambing percentage a little bit but it’s a hard road to get all the boxes in a row.

“We are killing lots of lambs off mum at good weights and our sheep production, on a whole because they’re not dying, is very good.” 

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