News

Facial eczema (FE) is thriving in warm humid conditions across the Top of the South Island, but many dairy farmers are not even aware their herds have the devastating disease, according to local CRV Sales Consultant Denise Cochrane.

As Liz Grayling drives her ute up the driveways of King Country dairy farmers, she wants to put a smile on their faces.

“If you go up the driveway of farmers and you don’t believe you can make their lives better, you may as well not be there.”

Dairy farmers are being urged to use genetics to breed facial eczema (FE) tolerance into their herds, with unseasonably humid conditions nationwide again creating the perfect environment for the disease to thrive.

Using DNA to identify the unique make-up of a dairy cow will become an increasingly powerful tool for dairy farmers as they look to fast-track the genetic gain of their herds, says new CRV myDNA Product Manager Anna Morrow.

New CRV sales consultant Brooke Kennett will be a familiar face to those she visits as she makes her way around farms in Coastal Taranaki over the next few months.