FOOT ROT SURVEY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29070, 5 December 1959, Page 8

FOOT ROT SURVEY

Design Of Local Schemes A survey of the incidence of foot rot in sheep throughout NewZealand is being made by the Department of Agriculture to gather information for designing future local schemes for the control of the disease. From its experience with the Purua foot rot eradication scheme and elsewhere the department realises that there is still much to be learnt about the disease to aid eradication. Control measures inevitably make heavy demands on farmers’ time and labour and it is essential to know how to direct their efforts most efficiently. Work at Purua, in Northland, will be continued on the present basis, but in addition the department will investigate means by which infection is spread. Special studies of the disease will be made by a research officer stationed at Wallaceville Animal Research Station. He will maintain close contact with officers handling field investigations. A special officer has been appointed to Marlborough, where farmer interest is already keen, to help iff the setting up of group foot rot control schemes on the lines suggested by W. I. B. Beveridge of the McMaster Laboratory, Sydney, and known as the Beveridge system. The department's animal industry division officers in all districts are now better equipped than ever to help and encourage farmers to make positive attacks on foot rot. The considerable knowledge of the problem and experience with district control measures have been widely disseminated through the extension service so that complete Information is available from officers at any point. Special research is continuing at various points and as new information arises from it, it will be made available to all districts for field application as quickly as possible.