Page 80 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2019 Edition

zones are no go – no one enters those areas apart from us.” might not be in its heyday anymore, but we felt we needed to
Covering the basics on your own farm and identifying any make sure it happened.”
stock that entered, and where it had come from, were key. Steps were taken to ensure the safety of the exhibitors and the
“The good thing about studs is that the animals we are public, including excluding people from stabling areas, separating
selling at registered private bull sales are born and bred on the dairy and beef cattle, and working with MPI to develop a policy.
properties – they don’t leave the property until the day they’re “We had an accurate inventory of all cattle that were present;
sold. Also, the opportunity to mingle with other [outside] animals we scanned their EID tags.”
is usually very limited,” Corney said. Exhibits were also separated by a two-metre radius, ensuring
In a recent release, ahead of the cattle breeding season, no nose-to-nose contact of cattle.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) reminded farmers to follow A biosecurity officer in high visibility gear had a strong visible
best practice biosecurity management to protect beef and dairy presence, using citric acid to spray down wash bays and tyres
herds from M. bovis. of all vehicles entering the stabling area.
B+LNZ general manager South Island, John Ladley, said Tweedie felt the cattle showing at Hawke’s Bay was a success.
farmers should ensure any bulls used this season were from a “Absolutely. We got full endorsement from MPI, people were still
known source and had up-to-date animal health and NAIT records. able to see the cattle, and we had some decent sized classes. We
“Bulls should have been quarantined after purchase and protected exhibitors, the show, and the public because we followed
any animal health issues dealt with before they are mixed with due process from the start, and we managed to make it work.”
home stock.” With Hawke’s Bay having the charter for the Royal Show for
While beef bulls were generally considered a low-risk stock the next three years, he said cattle would continue to feature.
class, bulls previously used over dairy herds were at a greater “The real question now is, is this business as usual? It does
risk of carrying M. bovis, he said. require some effort, but is this standard practice and what we
Farmers leasing bulls to dairy farmers as yearlings – and then need to do from now on?
selling them as two-year-olds – should reconsider that policy. “It did take a fair bit of work, but we’ve shown it’s doable. It can
“Yearling bulls should ideally only go to one dairy farm and be done, so we feel we have an obligation to give it a crack again
either be retained as a bull or sold for processing.” next year…ultimately, biosecurity is part of our lives now. M. bovis
The calf and weaner market had changed in light of the M. bovis has just been the spark but maybe this [process] will protect us
outbreak, but Corney said there was an opportunity for dairy farmers from something else in the future, and we’re going to stick with it.”
to use top quality beef genetics to add value to their calf crop.
VIRTUAL CALF CLUB
SEMEN MUST BE CLEAR For many farm kids, calf club is a keenly anticipated event,
Corney, who is also AB field operations manager for LIC, providing an opportunity to show off the hard work they have
highlighted changes breeders should be aware of in relation to put into their pet and the bond between them.
semen use. The cancellation of calf club last year due to M. bovis was
“If our members are purchasing semen, or collecting semen, a disappointment to many children, until dairy farmer Michelle
they need to make sure that semen has been tested for M. bovis.” Burgess and digital marketer Josh Herbes came up with a novel
LIC is testing every semen collection from its bulls and way to keep calf club alive – take it online.
confirming results before the straws are dispatched to farms. Herbes, who grew up on a dairy farm near Palmerston North,
Corney said biosecurity processes had always been works as a digital marketer and many of his clients are in the dairy
important to LIC, but M. bovis had prompted heightened industry. He had previously photographed Burgess’s cows and,
measures to be implemented, including the use of footbaths for when he saw her post in a farming social media group suggesting
field technicians and extra cleaning of equipment. people share photos of their calves, he knew he could help.
“We have to protect the customer and, most importantly, “We knew we had the ability to create a website and a
the national dairy herd,” he said. proper platform online,” Herbes said.
“Most of my clients are in the dairy industry; I come from a
THE SHOW MUST GO ON dairy background and I had a calf growing up. It [calf club] is
There were two A&P Shows that held cattle sections this very important for the kids…I’m a digital marketer, but I’m still
year – Hawke’s Bay Royal Show and Canterbury Show. Both in the dairy industry and we have to protect that industry. We
proved it can be done, with a bit of effort to ensure robust had the means to build a website, make it look nice and run
processes are in place when it comes to biosecurity. properly, so why not? The whole industry has been affected by
Co-chairman of the cattle committee for Hawke’s Bay, Max M. bovis and this is one way to give back.”
Tweedie, said the committee felt an obligation to ensure cattle Together, he and Burgess founded Calf Club New Zealand
had a continued presence at the Royal Show. through the website www.calfclubnz.co.nz, providing an
“We are the Royal Show and knew there was only us and online alternative to the traditional calf club.
Canterbury able to have cattle shown; all other shows have “It’s completely online and nationwide – anyone in the country
pulled out. We were worried that that this would be it for cattle can take part. We’ve actually had some kids enter who haven’t
showing, if we didn’t continue,” Tweedie explained. previously been able to do calf club, as their school didn’t run it.”
“We keep hearing that one of people’s favourite things to do Within nine hours of making the site live, more than 150
at the show is see the big impressive bulls. It [cattle showing] children had registered. All up they had 800 children register and
78