Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) impacts dairy farms significantly worse than red meat and game farms. This poses immense risk to dairy farms in KwaZulu-Natal, which is the province worst affected by this disease. It is also why a differentiated policy is required for managing the threat posed by foot-and-mouth to dairy farms.
By Lloyd Phillips, Senior Journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
KwaZulu-Natal’s approximately 180 registered dairy farms collectively produce about 30% of South Africa’s unprocessed milk. African Farming has been unable to ascertain how many dairy farms there are in total within the province’s more than 4-million-hectare foot-and-mouth disease management area (DMA).
It has been confirmed that four dairy farms, located near but outside the KZN FMD DMA, have herds infected with the disease. These farms remain under localised quarantine.
Whereas the KZN FMD DMA covers mostly eastern KwaZulu-Natal, most of the province’s dairy farms are in central and western KwaZulu-Natal. Nevertheless, industry sources point out that these farms are still under threat from FMD. This is supported by the reported FMD infections of the dairy farms outside the DMA, and by African Farming’s previous reporting on the illegal movement of potentially FMD-infected livestock out of the DMA.
Bertus van Heerden, chief economist at the national Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO), says if a mere 18,4% of KwaZulu-Natal’s milk production is shut down due to FMD, there will be insufficient unprocessed milk to meet South Africa’s demand for dairy products. The country would need to import the shortfall at higher prices, and local currency would exit the country.
He adds that the profitability of FMD-impacted dairy farms, jobs on these farms and in the downstream value-chain, and rural economies would all be jeopardised.
Also read: FMD | Milk SA announces working group for dairy value chain
Dairy Farms Are Worst Affected
The MPO confirms that FMD-affected dairy farms have had to increase their reliance on external financing in order to survive, often under unfavourable terms. Direct financial losses include veterinary treatments and pharmaceuticals for the acute, painful mastitis caused by FMD; the euthanising of cows with severe mastitis; reduced milk production; penalties from processors for high somatic cell counts; and the added cost of double-pasteurising milk.
Indirect losses include reduced longevity and milk production in dairy cows that were infected with FMD and recovered, as well as the need to rebuild herd numbers to replace cows that were euthanised.
“The psychological effect of seeing or hearing about the animals suffer is often overlooked in the context of FMD’s consequences. Dairy farmers and their staff are constantly exposed to this situation and experience anxiety about whether more cows will be affected, or if FMD will reach their farms,” Van Heerden says.
“Role-players need to understand how much more severely dairy cattle are affected by FMD than, for example, beef cattle. For dairy cattle, it is critical to keep the time between identifying symptoms of FMD, taking blood samples and getting the test results as short as possible. If the turnaround time is less than 12 hours and, if needed, vaccination takes place immediately thereafter, the impacts and spread of FMD in dairy herds would be exponentially lower.”
Also read: New FMD cases confirmed at Gauteng feedlots; possible case in Free State
Specific Impacts Require Specific Policy
The MPO and other stakeholders in South Africa’s dairy industry are calling for government and its animal health officials to urgently develop and implement a FMD response and management protocol specifically for this industry.
African Farming approached the South African Milk Processors’ Organisation (SAMPRO) and various private milk-processing companies for their feedback on how FMD in KwaZulu-Natal may be impacting their operations. Only Jacques van Heerden, industrial executive of Clover, responded.
Although none of Clover’s milk suppliers in KwaZulu-Natal fall within the province’s FMD DMA, the company is concerned about and sympathetic towards all the province’s dairy farmers and other livestock farmers who are directly or indirectly affected.
Van Heerden says Clover has standard operational risk management and mitigation strategies. In response to the threats posed by FMD, Clover continues to work closely with state animal health authorities to stay abreast of the latest developments.
“We remain focussed on anticipating regulatory requirements and on implementing biosecurity and compliance measures ahead of time to avoid disruption. We also support our milk suppliers by reinforcing farm-level awareness of biosecurity practices, and by ensuring that our milk collection and transport processes remain fully compliant with government requirements.”
Also read: FMD | ‘Where exactly is the red zone, minister?’
