March deadline looms for M bovis eradication decisionJohn Hawkins/Stuff Federated Farmers Southland president Allan BairdA decision on a cattle cull to wipe Mycoplasma bovis from New Zealand is set to be made by the end of March. If all affected properties have been identified, a cull of the cattle on affected farms should eliminate the disease from New Zealand. The ministry's national surveillance programme, which involves testing milk from dairy farms around the country, was likely end by the end of March. However, the first round of testing on tanker milk showed no new infections outside the previously identified affected farms. As the deadline for making a decision on the response to M bovis closes in, the ministry has also expanded the date range for contact with the infected properties it is investigating.

Source: Stuff February 28, 2018 04:18 UTC