Beef+Lamb NZ – Facial Eczema Three-Year Research Study
Facial Eczema (FE) costs the New Zealand economy a staggering $332 million dollars a year and is a challenge farmers are facing across the country.
B+LNZ, along with our partners, are working to produce new solutions to tackle this devastating disease, but we need your help. It is easy to get involved and play a part. Are you able to commit to collecting 10 poo samples from the ground from one mob of sheep every 2 weeks from October – May? We would love to have you join our collectors around the country to help provide valuable information and samples from your farm to understand this disease.
How do I find out more?
Find out more by going to www.beeflambnz.com/FEstudy and registering your interest by following the link.
Will this cost me anything?
There is no cost to you. B+LNZ funds the testing, provides all the testing kits, sampling protocols and return pre-paid courier bags to get the samples back to the lab. The sample collection will take approximately 30-45 minutes per fortnight of your time.
What do I get out of it?
– Regular fungal spore counts from your sheep’s faeces to help understand your FE risk
– Access to a map showing areas where fungal spores have been detected around NZ
– Networking opportunities with other farmers in the study through:
>> WhatsApp group
>> Webinars such as ‘ask an expert’ and the annual results of the study.
What if I miss a sampling week?
Don’t worry, just let us know and then sample the following week.
What age sheep do I need to sample from?
We would prefer young animals that will be staying on the farm from October – May (e.g. hoggets or 2-tooths). If you do not have this age group, the next best would be mixed aged ewes.
Do I have to be in an area that is known to have FE?
No! We need to sample from farms both with and without known cases of FE. This will help us define where it is and is not occurring as well as investigating what makes these areas different. We aim to use this information to help provide better solutions to manage this disease.
If FE is detected on my farm, will identifiable information be kept confidential?
Yes, we take privacy seriously. Your personal information will be kept confidential by B+LNZ. Any results published will be presented in a way that individual farms or farmers results are unable to be identified.
Download a flyer for your clients and find more information on the B+LNZ website.
0800 BEEFLAMB (0800 233 352) | WW.BEEFLAMBNZ.COM | BY FARMERS, FOR FARMERS