Keep up to date with all our latest news, articles of interest, and case studies from the veterinary world around Hawke’s Bay.
And just like that the spore counts have jumped back up! This is not surprising with the warmer nights over the past couple of weeks. Due to the autumn drought, animals are potentially grazing pasture at lower pasture residuals so there is still some risk to stock. The colder nights forecast for next week and…
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This week’s pasture spore counts – Week ending 14th May 2021 Regional average spore counts have dropped back to safe levels, and hotspots have also reduced significantly. It hard to see spore count climbing again now as nights are really cooling off. Trend graph of 2021 Regional Average Spore Counts compared with last year’s data.
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What is it? Facial eczema is a disease affecting sheep, cattle and alpacas, and is caused by a toxin called sporidesmin. Sporidesmin is produced by the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing on pasture. The fungus grows in the base of pasture in warm moist conditions found at this time of year. When ingested…
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Alpacas are very susceptible to the toxic effects of facial eczema spores and high risk periods occur during the summer and autumn. The spores, produced by the fungus Pithomyces chartarum, are broken down in the digestive tract releasing the sporidesmin toxin. The toxin is absorbed into the circulation and reaches the liver where it is…
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This week’s pasture spore counts – Week ending 12 February 2021 The majority of this Hasting’s spore counts were in the 0,000-5,000 (low) range this week. The average count across the region were 3330, and remains unchanged from the last 3 weeks. One of the sites on Ocean Beach Road remained at 15,000. Spore counts…
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Hastings pasture spore counts – Week ending 19 February 2021 The majority of this week’s spore counts were in the 0,000-5,000 (low) range. The average count across the region were 6250, a slight lift on last week. One of the sites on Ocean Beach Road remained at 17,500. Spore counts match last year’s trend at…
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Waipukurau After a slight increase due to warm rain a few weeks ago the counts have dropped again, and with cooler nights the spore counts are expected to remain in this mid-low zone. We still have some potential for warm weather for another month or so but it is the night-time temperatures that are needed…
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Regional average spore counts are around the 25,000 mark, with hotspots across the region, indicating the risk is not over yet. One of the sites on Ocean Beach Road is still 115,000. Best advice is to monitor the spore counts on your pastures to assess risk more accurately. Hastings Results Waipukurau Results Further…
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Regional average spore counts have increased again since last week, with counts having risen dramatically over the last 3 weeks. There are individual counts at dangerous levels in several areas (Taihape Road 120,000, Ocean Beach Road 140,000, Eskdale 100,000). Don’t assume your area is safe just because we’ve had cooler nights, get some pasture samples…
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This week’s pasture spore counts – Week ending 5th March 2021 Spore counts are continuing to rise in some areas and it is expected that the spore count will continue to rise more following the recent widespread rain adding moisture to the large amount of dead matter found in pasture at the moment. Combined with…
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Spore count summary After a cold snap and a downward trend in counts we have now seen a small jump with some recent warm weather. Not too many individual counts in high risk zones but a few small spikes present and still spores present in moderate levels at almost all of our monitor sites. Quick…
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Waipukurau Results A low and slow approach to the season so far with counts rising steadily but not yet in the dangerous zone for most. There have been reports locally of clinical cases on farm already, and farms that have tested multiple sites have shown us the differences we can see between paddocks even on…
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