Friday, March 29, 2024

Sale yards unsafe, DairyNZ says

Avatar photo
Buying stock at sale yards is “not really” safe more than 100 farmers were told at a Mycoplasma bovis meeting in  Pukekohe meeting.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

There were many questions from farmers mainly about what they could do to protect their animals. 

One wanted to know if buying stock from the local Tuakau sale yards is safe due when animals mingle with each other there.

“Not really,” was the response from DairyNZ’s veterinary technical policy adviser Nita Harding. 

She suggested farmers should see if they can get stock direct from other farmers who can prove their animal health status. 

Animals sold through sale yards should not be mixed with other mobs on trucks. 

If cattle are kept in every second pen once in yards the risk of nose-to-nose contact is reduced but that creates challenges for sale yard operators. 

It is critical stock records are up to date and animals are tagged appropriately. 

While only 10% to 15% of farmers are fully Nait compliant that will improve in future along with enforcement action.

A farmer grazing large numbers of dairy young stock as well as buying in weaner dairy beef calves to sell as rising two-year-olds was advised to manage them in separate units on separate parts of the farm. 

Another farmer wanted to know about service bulls going onto dairy farms and who is responsible for making sure they are free of the disease. 

Yard said farmers were exposing themselves to risk with no commercial test yet available. 

“Ideally bulls should go to one farm then to the works,” he said.

Harding said there were a lot questions that farmers should be asking of those who supplied their service bulls.

“Look at their practices and how they can ensure they’re clean,” she said.

“We can see a lot of changes coming in the next wee while.”

Another farmer was worried about their stock grazed on land leased from a council where its workers came to and fro without giving any prior warning. They were told the matter was being raised at chief executive level and the same was happening with Transpower. If there was any concern about AI equipment being used farmers should bring it up with the company involved or they could keep their own set.

Total
0
Shares
People are also reading