Through the Resilient Dairy Programme, we have developed a facial eczema breeding value to enable farmers to breed cows that are more resistant to the disease. This research has allowed us to identify bulls in our breeding schemes whose daughters are less susceptible to facial eczema due to having lower responses of GGT – an enzyme that is released into the bloodstream by the injured liver when animals are affected by facial eczema.
Facial eczema is a distressing disease that impacts thousands of cows each year, costing the New Zealand dairy sector at least $100 million annually in lost production.
Only a small portion of animals with the disease show clinical signs, making it hard to assess the extent of the problem.
There is no cure for facial eczema, so prevention and management is currently the only way of protecting animals. This can include monitoring pasture spore count, and either dosing animals with zinc, or spraying pastures with a fungicide.
Breeding cows that are more tolerant to facial eczema is a solution to reduce the impact from the disease long term, and when used over generations, farmers can reduce their herd’s susceptibility.
No Choice Facial Eczema pack prices
$22.95 excl
