Research suggests FE is only going to become a bigger problem, for more areas. As well as dealing with it this year, are you preparing for the long term?
Breeding for FE tolerance in sheep is the single best opportunity that we have at the moment – find out how to get the rams that will help by reading the article below, and talk to your breeder.
The cost of a bad outbreak can be high – estimated as close to $100 million dollars cost for affected areas. It is also a hidden killer. You see only a few sheep with the symptoms, but then you have a barren ewe problem, deaths at lambing, ewes that run dry before weaning. For every clinical case, there can be five, 10 or more with the disease. On top of the cost, no one wants their sheep to be affected by disease.
Fortunately, there are things you can do, both in the short term and in the long term, and the B+LNZ resources linked below contain the latest information we have, in several formats to suit your preference.
Resources for Facial Eczema
- Web – Gribbles, B+LNZ & Dairy NZ Facial Eczema reports
- Download – Facing up to Facial Eczema resource book
- Download – Facing up to Facial Eczema factsheet
- Download – Preventing Facial Eczema by pasture species selection and grazing management factsheet
- Podcast – Dr Neale Towers and Robert Carter: Facing up to Facial Eczema
The following are previous B+LNZ FE articles which may have useful information:
- Facial Eczema – a perennial scourge
- Selecting for Facial Eczema tolerance
- Genetics offer long-term Facial Eczema control
- Options in prevention and treatment of Facial Eczema
- Looking out for Facial Eczema
What is B+LNZ doing around FE: