New Zealand dairy farmers must act now and use the right targeted genetics to breed cattle that are more resilient to facial eczema.

That’s the message from CRV Ambreed’s research and development manager Phil Beatson who believes the dairy industry could learn a great deal from the sheep industry to successfully prevent this debilitating disease long-term.

Facial eczema (FE) is not only harmful for animals, but also incredibly stressful for farmers when their stock is affected.

It is caused by a toxin (sporisdesim) produced by the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing on pasture. The fungus grows in the dead litter at the base of pasture in warm moist conditions, and when ingested by cattle or sheep, damages the liver and bile ducts.

Higher humidity has increased the number of toxic spores in pastures this year, resulting in a spike in the number of FE cases in the North Island and parts of the South Island.

Beatson says the fact that the Grey Valley has experienced some severe outbreaks for the first time, and this seems the worst for several years throughout the North Island, indicates what the future may hold with global warming.

“For every three in 100 cows with clinical FE, it is estimated up to 70 per cent of the herd may have subclinical symptoms. You won’t necessarily see the disease in cows with subclinical symptoms, but it will be damaging the liver and negatively impacting milk production,” Beatson explains.

“With climate change, this problem is only going to get worse. As an industry we can’t rely on short-term measures to treat FE any longer.  This is already a huge economic and animal welfare issue and genetics provides a long-term solution to the problem.”

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