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Farmers are being asked to collect sheep poo samples for a new three-year study into facial eczema, a serious livestock disease for which there is currently no cure.
The research is being carried out by Beef + Lamb NZ to get a more detailed picture of the disease’s prevalence and to see whether a warming climate is affecting its distribution.
Sector science strategy manager Suzi Keeling says Beef + Lamb NZ is looking for 350 farmers from 16 regions around the country to collect samples from October to May each year.
Volunteers would be required to collect samples 16 times for each of the three years, roughly every two weeks, and from the same mob of sheep each season, although a different mob can be used each year.
“It’s as simple as taking a walk in a paddock, there’s no need to yard the animals,” she says. “Just scoop up 10 individual fresh samples from the ground.”
Farmers who submit all their samples will receive faecal spore count results as soon as lab testing is carried out, access to a monthly updated map showing spore counts around the country, and a Prezzy Card for their trouble at the end of the season.
Facial eczema is spread by toxic fungal spores on dead plant material, especially rye grass, and it can cause photosensitivity, sunburn, liver damage or failure, or even death. Beef + Lamb estimates the annual cost of facial eczema to the New Zealand sheep, beef, dairy and deer sectors to be around $332 million.
Info and registration: www.cognitoforms.com/BLNZGenetics/FacialEczemaThreeYearResearchStudy
