Phil Duncan | February 01, 2021 from GlobalHQ on Vimeo.
This is the highest detection rate for this time of year over the past four years, and lines up with what AgriHQ contacts have been saying for some time. A moist, warm summer is great for grass growth, but these conditions are a recipe for fungal/spore growth. Autumn 2016 was the worst time for FE in recent memory and had very similar climatic conditions to this summer. At the time, spore detection peaked at 75% of spore counts reported to Gribbles Vets exceeding 30,000spg.
When FE spore growth is elevated, affected pasture becomes toxic to cattle and sheep causing liver damage that is not always obvious. Research by Beef + Lamb NZ found that if 5% of a ewe flock show clinical signs of FE, at least 50% of the flock has been sub-clinically affected. Subclinical cases of FE can have impaired fertility, reduced milk production, poorer yields, slower growth – ewe lamb growth can reduce by 32% – and in extreme cases, affected animals die.
Regional spore counts indicate greener areas of Northland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty are at the greatest risk of FE outbreaks this summer. Areas which have experienced higher winds and temperatures or have been consistently cooler this summer look to be in a safer spot.
While weather conditions may have created an ideal environment for spore growth, they also lend themselves to FE risk management. Most farmers have enough grass to regularly rotate stock over pasture and avoid intensive grazing, plus have supplementary feed options to give stock a break from grass. These measures will go some way to reducing the risk of FE, especially if farmers can shut-off paddocks with a history of high spore counts.
An elevated risk of FE could influence buying patterns in the store lamb market. Subclinical FE lambs do not handle the stress of trucking and clinical cases cannot be sold in the sale yards, so we may see a short-term influx of lambs on the market from high-risk regions before it is too late.
On the other side of the rails, buyers may compete over lambs from regions perceived as safe and chase stock with proven tolerance to FE. These factors could contribute to some price movement on what has become a fairly quiet North Island store lamb market.
