Thursday, March 28, 2024

Silent killer’s cost unknown

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Pneumonia remains the silent killer of lamb production and the problem is not being helped by research having to piggyback off other project work.
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It is estimated, on average, 188 of every 1000 lambs processed show some degree of pneumonia but, unlike pleurisy, it is not required to be recorded by meat processors so it’s true cost to New Zealand farmers goes largely unaccounted for.

Dr Shannon Clarke of AgResearch has taken a special interest in the problem and said while it is now possible to have an idea of how many works lambs are affected, there is no idea of the deaths occurring onfarm or what the actual total cost to production is.

Costs to production include delayed lamb growth, resulting in a later mean kill date, the extra grass needed to finish lambs and extra animal health costs associated with keeping lambs onfarm longer.

There is also a cost to ewe-lamb replacements in terms of their growth and the effect of slower maturity on fertility, especially if being lambed as hoggets.

What is now known is pneumonia does have an estimated degree of heritability, albeit a low one at 0.1.

Still, Clarke said though that seems low, it’s not insignificant and from an economic point of view it is still worth preventing, especially if good farm management techniques are being used at the same time.

She would like to see more research funding to focus on genetics and assess both breed and bloodlines.

Although in no doubt that the environment has a huge impact on the problem and many farmers have changed how they manage young stock to assist with it, Clarke sees value if ram breeders can select against it.

She has seen onfarm evidence to suggest heritability between breeds and this view is in line with research findings presented in 2006 from a Canterbury study. Other notable points from that research, which require further investigation, highlighted injecting lambs with vitamin B12 at tailing and weaning and set-stocking lambs from weaning.

The biggest issue its ability to wreak havoc on production in relative silence, unlike more obvious problems such as thistles and worm parasites.

Beef + Lamb NZ farm general manager Richard Wakelin said his group’s research investment is targeted towards issues raised directly with it and to date pneumonia had not been raised. Issues normally came via consultation meetings, workshops, events or field days.

To get research funding into the problem he suggests it should be done either directly to B+LNZ through the Farmer Research Advisory Group or an approach from researchers in the area of science.

Pneumonia in lambs isn’t restricted to NZ. It is a widespread problem of young sheep and goats throughout Australia, United Kingdom, Turkey and the USA.

Pneumonia is believed to have a strong link to stress so farm management tips to avoid it include:

  • Manage worm burdens.
  • Ensure lamb nutritional requirements are being met – research suggests a higher incidence of pneumonia when grazing lower quality pastures.
  • Avoid mustering in the heat of the day.
  • Stand stock to settle after mustering, before yarding.
  • Avoid yarding for extended periods.
  • Reduce dust by dampening down yards (ie: hand-held sprinkler or sprinkler system).
  • Avoid shearing freshly weaned lambs.
  • Consider using vitamin B12 at tailing and/or weaning.
  • Avoid mob-stocking lambs post-weaning.
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