Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is one of the most serious biosecurity threats facing livestock industries worldwide, with South Africa’s recent outbreak highlighting the devastating impact it can have on commercial dairy farms. In this episode, Anne Lee speaks with Georgie Muller, Steve Moss and Andrew Morphew about the rapid spread of the disease, its impact on dairy businesses and the urgent need for coordinated vaccine programmes and national response planning.

Host:
Anne Lee, Senior Journalist, Dairy Country

Guests:
Steve Moss, Sharefarmer and Hub Manager overseeing seven dairy farms for management company Just Milk
Georgie Muller, Dairy Junction and Pinion Advisory
Andrew Morphew, Colbourne Farming and spokesperson for FMD Response South Africa

 

Georgie Muller explains how Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has historically been contained to specific endemic regions in South Africa, but in recent years has spread into major commercial dairy areas with severe consequences for farmers. She says the virus is difficult to control because it is present in wild and communally owned animal populations. Once in dairy herds it spreads rapidly, causing mastitis, lameness, calf losses and major production challenges. Georgie says this latest, large-scale outbreak has hit farmers hard, and highlighted gaps when it comes to the roll out of vaccination programme across large communal and commercial farming regions.

Steve Moss shares firsthand experience from his dairy businesses after FMD spread through several of their farms earlier this year. He says the outbreak caused catastrophic calf losses, widespread mastitis and major milk production declines, while also placing enormous emotional and physical pressure on farm staff and management teams. Steve says vaccination has shown promising results in reducing the severity of outbreaks, but ongoing vaccine shortages and delays continue to leave many farms exposed to further infections.

Andrew Morphew says FMD Response South Africa was established as a farmer-led organisation to push for faster, more coordinated action from government and industry. He says the current vaccination rollout is not happening quickly enough to effectively control the disease and argues South Africa needs large-scale vaccination campaigns completed within tight timeframes to reduce viral spread. Andrew says farmers, private veterinarians and industry groups all need to play a role in the response if the country is to regain control of the outbreak and protect the long-term future of its livestock industries.

 

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Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is one of the most serious biosecurity threats facing livestock industries worldwide, with South Africa&rsquo;s recent outbreak highlighting the devastating impact it can have on commercial dairy farms. In this episode, Anne Lee speaks with Georgie Muller, Steve Moss and Andrew Morphew about the rapid spread of the disease, its impact on dairy businesses and the urgent need for coordinated vaccine programmes and national response planning.
Host:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Anne Lee, Senior Journalist, Dairy Country</li>
</ul>
Guests:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Steve Moss, Sharefarmer and Hub Manager overseeing seven dairy farms for management company Just Milk</li>
<li aria-level="1">Georgie Muller, Dairy Junction and Pinion Advisory</li>
<li aria-level="1">Andrew Morphew, Colbourne Farming and spokesperson for FMD Response South Africa</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Georgie Muller explains how Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) has historically been contained to specific endemic regions in South Africa, but in recent years has spread into major commercial dairy areas with severe consequences for farmers. She says the virus is difficult to control because it is present in wild and communally owned animal populations. Once in dairy herds it spreads rapidly, causing mastitis, lameness, calf losses and major production challenges. Georgie says this latest, large-scale outbreak has hit farmers hard, and highlighted gaps when it comes to the roll out of vaccination programme across large communal and commercial farming regions.
Steve Moss shares firsthand experience from his dairy businesses after FMD spread through several of their farms earlier this year. He says the outbreak caused catastrophic calf losses, widespread mastitis and major milk production declines, while also placing enormous emotional and physical pressure on farm staff and management teams. Steve says vaccination has shown promising results in reducing the severity of outbreaks, but ongoing vaccine shortages and delays continue to leave many farms exposed to further infections.
Andrew Morphew says FMD Response South Africa was established as a farmer-led organisation to push for faster, more coordinated action from government and industry. He says the current vaccination rollout is not happening quickly enough to effectively control the disease and argues South Africa needs large-scale vaccination campaigns completed within tight timeframes to reduce viral spread. Andrew says farmers, private veterinarians and industry groups all need to play a role in the response if the country is to regain control of the outbreak and protect the long-term future of its livestock industries.
&nbsp;
Sign up to the weekly DAIRY Country email newsletter here: <a href="https://dairycountry.co.nz/sign-up/">https://dairycountry.co.nz/sign-up/</a>

DAIRY Country is your mainstay in dairy farming as your trusted source for adding value to your dairy farming business with seasonal on farm stories and exclusive technical advice weekly with your host, Anne Lee.

Formally the NZ Dairy Exporter since 1925, DAIRY Country is part of the CountryWide network based in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Get in touch with our Anne Lee - anne@countrywidemedia.co.nz if you have a great insight to share with our
thousands of readers and listeners in New Zealand and around the world.

Don’t miss our weekly episodes of the DAIRY Country Podcast by hitting the subscribe button now and join our DAIRY Country weekly email newsletter to get the latest in-depth stories in your mailbox so you are always ahead of the game in the
business of dairy farming into the future.

DAIRY Country is your mainstay in dairy farming as your trusted source for adding value to your dairy farming business with seasonal on farm stories and exclusive technical advice weekly with your host, Anne Lee.
Formally the NZ Dairy Exporter since 1925, DAIRY Country is part of the CountryWide network based in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Get in touch with our Anne Lee - anne@countrywidemedia.co.nz if you have a great insight to share with our thousands of readers and listeners in New Zealand and around the world.
Don&rsquo;t miss our weekly episodes of the DAIRY Country Podcast by hitting the&nbsp;subscribe button now and <a href="https://dairyexporter.co.nz/sign-up/">join our DAIRY Country weekly email newsletter</a> to get the&nbsp;latest in-depth stories in your mailbox so you are always ahead of the game in the business of dairy farming into the future.