M. bovis: Southland show to judge cattle on-farm

Photo / File

Yesterday, the Southland A&P Association announced the cattle section at this year's show was back ''with a twist'', after being cancelled last year due to Mycoplasma bovis.

It was decided to take the judging to the exhibitors on-farm, a first for the Southland show, cattle section marshal Rob Hall said.

There would also be a junior handler competition at the show on March 2 and one breeder's cattle would be available to show.

This year marked the 150th celebration of the beef and dairy sections at the show and president Paula Bell was excited about the changed format.

''Having the cattle section being judged on-farm also opens up further opportunities for breeders who might not normally show cattle, which is incredibly exciting for the show,'' she said.

The prizegiving would be held at the show.

Read more about Mycoplasma bovis here.

A dairy farm in Otago is the latest to be confirmed as infected with Mycoplasma bovis.

The Ministry for Primary Industries' latest stakeholder update showed three new infected properties: a beef farm in the Far North, a beef farm in South Canterbury, and the Otago property.

Last week, six properties had their restricted place status revoked, including five infected properties. Four of the revoked IPs were in Canterbury and one in Tasman.

There were now five 17 active infected properties in Canterbury, five in Otago and one in Southland, and a national total of 34.