“You need to ask some very strong questions,” Chris Biddles, who established Te Atarangi Angus stud on the nearby Pouto Peninsula over 30 years ago, said.
Firstly, farmers looking for service bulls for their herds should choose a breeder with a registered herd.
“That’s expensive to maintain and breeders won’t take risks.”
They should then ask the breeder about how much trading of stock they are doing and if they have a closed herd.
“Ask for records to prove that information is accurate,” he said.
“If the breeder isn’t registered ask even more questions because you’re safeguarding yourself.”
He also urged farmers to make sure they know their stock agent well.
They might sell stock at a cheaper price but it can be a very expensive decision.
Farmers are sometimes their own worst enemies when it comes to making cash sales.
Biddles is speaking to all his neighbours about their stock.
“I am going overboard on risk aversion,” he said.
At his sale in September he will have footbaths for farmers attending as well as extra precautions.
Special care will be taken in washing out stock trucks before his stock are carried in them. And if farmers require that to happen they should expect to pay transport companies for it.
A farmer asked him about how dairy farmers relying on bulk milk test results can be sure their neighbours running beef cattle are clear of M bovis.
“You’ve got to rely on their integrity,” he said.
If there were cases of mastitis in beef cattle they should be tested.
Caleb King, a dairy cattle vet who works for the Ministry for Primary Industries’ planning and intelligence group, said the first question that should be asked was whether any dairy and beef stock had been brought on to the farm.
“If that’s happened the risk is significantly higher,” he said.
Joyce Gallaghan, a director of Dargaville Veterinary Centre, which organised the meeting, said farmers should buy calves or cows from as few sources as possible and deal direct with other farmers.
“Ask if they have done M bovis testing, if there’s been any M bovis tracing from MPI,” she said.
“Ask about their stock-trading practices and cow and calf health over the last two years.”
They should also ask to see Nait records and movements, make sure they are up to date and buy only stock with Nait tags. They should avoid mixing mobs while they are being transported then quarantine them for seven days once they reach their farm.
