Animal health, shearing update

Animal health, shearing update At a glance... Update on shearing practices and procudures Worming tips Vaccination advice for sheep and cattle Getting organised for shearing and parasite control can make a big difference to the efficiency of any livestock operation and the health of animals. Jessica Strauss checks in with experts on points to consider for shearing, vaccinations and drenching. SHEARING Shearing Contractor s Association of Australia Secretary Jason Letchford said planning for shearing was essential regardless of whether you engage a shearing contractor or engaging shearers directly yourself. He said farmers could split the planning into two categories; physical facilities and amenities, and flock preparation. He said with flock preparation, ensuring you have enough time to get the job done was imperative. What shearers need, and which also contributes to the overall outcome, is yarding the sheep the night before the sheep are due to be shorn, The national shearing award states sheep only need to be brought in four hours before shearing but Letchford said that if shearers were to look out the back beyond the catching pens to see sheep being brought in only four hours before they re to be shorn, those shearers would be unhappy to say the least. He said that it was a lack of respect to the men and women doing the job. With a few exceptions, bringing sheep in just before shearing can leave the sheep unsettled making the job much tougher. As we all know, to make someone s life harder or even perceived to make it harder, gets everyone off on the wrong foot, He said it was an easy tip for farmers to get any mobs of sheep in the night before. Excrement also needs to be emptied out in the yards beforehand. This is important to ensure faeces is kept out of the wool clip, but it s equally as important for the shearers as shearing a sheep which has a full stomach is not easy. The sheep are going to be uncomfortable and therefore more difficult to keep still and in position, while they are being shorn. SHEARING SAFETY Work Cover in every state is non-prescriptive. In other words, they won t prescribe to a farmer, shearer or a contractor what the elements are of a safe shearing shed. The reality is that the onus is put back on us being the owner/manager/worker to determine what safe margins are, A common sense approach is needed for safety with shearing. Letchford said if you perceive something to be dangerous, or could lead to causing someone harm, an accident, or injury, then it s probably a good indication that the issue needs to be resolved. For example, anything involving electricity, exposed wiring and hazardous products such as chemicals in the shearing shed need to be resolved. These items need to be fixed or taken out of the shearing shed before any work begins as the obviously could easily cause serious harm or death. Everything else such as catching pen doors that might not be hanging very well, to cracks in the grating where you might have a board missing in the back corner perhaps on a risk assessment basis, these kinds of issues wouldn t stop the job from going ahead. You would still need to attend to these kinds of issues in the quickest and most practical way, A good rule of thumb is, if you had to stand up in front of a judge and explain to them that you did everything in your power in to fix or mitigate the problem, then you really need to stop working and fix the problem. In terms of shearer s quarters, there isn t any legislation which determines when huts should or shouldn t be used. It comes down to what s practical. There s been a general trend for jobs to go from what is called camp out jobs to suburban jobs, said Letchford. The reasons for this shift include improved roads and cars in the last 40 years. Many unsealed roads are now sealed and cars drive at higher speeds, more safely. Many shearers have families too and while traveling and camping can be a nice novelty, most people want to go home after their shift. Farmers in recent years have generally been knocking down or decommissioning old huts due to them not being used and this has in general not concerned the workforce. Letchford said there were ongoing costs involved with maintaining huts, which are to used as accommodation and can add up over time. For those who still use their huts need to remember that they are part of the workplace. Letchford said that it would be the responsibility of the farmer to ensure 69

accommodation was safe for workers to use. Alcohol and drugs in huts is a concern and the employer needs to manage these elements via employment conditions or contracts that prohibit drugs and stipulate practice allowances for alcohol consumption while living on the property, according to Letchford. From both a contractor and farmer perspective not having workers around after shifts have ended means less responsibility. The flipside to that is people traveling long distances every day. Heavy workloads each day leads to fatigue. Fatigue causes accidents. In the trucking and mining industries, fatigue is being taken more seriously than it is in the shearing industry at the moment. Letchford said at the moment there were no official guidelines related to working hours and time and distance travelled for shearers with regard to fatigue. It just comes under the legislation related to risk assessment. If workers are tired at the end of the day, especially towards the end of a hard week the farmer/contractor should consider making arrangements for the workers to be transported to their accommodation with someone with yourself or someone who is not fatigued. Based on the New Zealand model, many contractors now provide bus transport to and from work sites for employees, which is more economical than paying individuals $0.78 per kilometre to drive their own vehicles. CONTRACT RATES Letchford said it was difficult to pin down precise contract rates for each state. It s a piece of string. The actual wage cost of shearing a flock (regular adult) sheep is $2.81 per sheep at the moment. Contract prices don t vary by state (besides Western Australia) as every state has rescinded their state award, so we re all now under the federal pastoral award, Letchford said. In straight wages, it costs around $5.20 at the moment, before any travel or campout costs are taken into account to shear a sheep. That s about 75% of what the final contract price will be. That figure is determined by how many sheep are being shorn per day and how many runs it takes to finish the job and how many auxiliary (shed hands) staff are required If you finish in the first run of any day of the week say you ve shorn for four days and you finish first run Friday, then the price might go up a dollar a head compared with finishing at 5pm on the Thursday night. Letchford said as a gauge the contract price was about $7 per head. He said, you might get good volume shearing jobs at 50c less than that but on slower jobs, it could cost between $1 to $2 more per head, on a cost plus type of arrangement. PRESSERS AND CLASSERS Once a job has more than three shearers, generally a presser is also employed. The rate of pay is slightly more than a shed hand, at around $55 a run. The award for wool classers is $240 a day, but Letchford said most classers negotiate their rate. A lot of them are paid the equivalent of what a shearer earns to shear 100 flock sheep is, so at the moment it is $281 per day. That s gearing toward the expected number which most wool classers would work for per day. Some of them are paid $300. I spoke to a contractor this morning and their classer is on $350 day. It s a far more negotiated role. Wool classers are what are called found employees. So if you do a camp-out job, you have to supply all their food and board, at no cost to them. Letchford said that means you can t charge them the $28 you are able to charge all the other employees (shed hands, shearers). The only other found employee is the cook. Wool classers are also on a day rate, rather than by the run. Letchford said this could add to your costs, if you do short days. Days are broken up into four runs, with two runs before lunch and two after, with half an hour breaks in the morning and afternoon and one hour for lunch. As mentioned, if you finished a contract job or any job in the third or fourth run, the price of shearing would be substntially different to if you finished it in the first run (being more expensive in the first). There are two types of contractors. There are ones who will set a contract price for the whole job, rain, hail or shine. Generally in their district, they ll just have one price. The price then needs to account for times when they might finish a job in the morning as opposed to the afternoon and numerous other variables around clip preparation, the size of sheep, ease of shearing. The cost could vary up to $2 a head, according to Letchford. The second type of shearing contractor is a cost-plus contractor who passes on all the costs to the farmer plus a management fee to cover their time and overheads. Letchford also said farmers should be wary about classing their own wool. He said once a classers stencil was not trusted wool could be discounted heavily from that particular supplier. If you re only classing wool once a year and not keeping up to date with trends and market requirements, it would be advisable to consider employing a professional wool classer to ensure getting the best price for your wool. Also, short-changing yourself on the number of shed staff you employ is also something to look out for. A good rule of thumb is that if you have six shearers, you d probably have two roustabouts, two wool rollers and you may have a separate wool classer, depending on how many kilos of wool is being cut and how fast the shearers are working, You could get away with one or two less staff in that scenario, but what generally happens is the clip preparation will suffer, 70 Farming Ahead April 2015 No. 279

for example in terms of locks and the amount of burr in the wool. It can discount your fleece lines at the end of the day. It doesn t take much to work out that you can sometimes pay a little bit more in your wage costs up front, to give yourself a far better outcome at when you sell your wool. WORMS Sheep producers are being reminded to control sheep worms now to prevent problems over winter and spring. Department of Agriculture and Food Principal Veterinary Officer Dr Brown Besier said autumn was a critical time for worm control because worm burdens at the end of April determine the risk of winter and spring worm problems. Worms that survive summer drenching are the major cause of future high worm burdens, and also increase levels of drench resistance, Dr Besier said. It s important to check whether summer drenching, which is recommended for lambs and hoggets, was effective by conducting a worm egg count on dung samples. Drenching adult sheep is now recommended in autumn, both to ensure good worm control for the year ahead and to reduce the development of drench resistance. Breeding ewes in good condition should therefore be drenched between mid-march and mid-april. Mild autumn weather provides ideal conditions for worm eggs dropped onto pasture in dung during summer to develop to the larval stage, and conditions become more favourable closer to winter. Dr Besier said winter worm problems were highly likely if sheep were passing large numbers of worm eggs in late autumn. Drenching is recommended when there are more than 100 eggs per gram as this level could result in significant contamination, he said. Useful treatments at this time of year include the newer products monepantel and the derqantel-abamectin combination, and on the vast majority of farms, the triple combination drenches (mixtures of a white, macrocyclic lactone and either a clear or an organo-phosphate type). Larvae are ingested by grazing sheep Adult worms in the sheeps digestive tract lay eggs While resistance now affects all macrocyclic lactone (ML) drenches, tests indicate moxidectin remains effective on about two thirds of properties, and abamectin on about one half of properties. Dr Besier suggested effectiveness and resistance be tested for each drench by taking dung worm egg counts at the time the drench is given, and again 10-14 days later from freshly-passed samples. Drenching programs should also be reviewed prior to next summer to prevent increased drench resistance levels. Eggs passed into pasture via manure Your Stockyard Design Specialists The yard design and stockflow are exceptional, as is the service and workmanship. Chad Taylor, Mumblebone Merino Stud, Wellington, NSW Atlex have exceeded all expectations. Norman Smith, Glenwood Merino Stud, Wellington, NSW Atlex yards are quality in design, manufacture, erection and service. 20 years too late though. David & Chris Bolt, Strathalbyn & Glen Haven, Corrigan, WA I always find it very enjoyable to work stock in our Atlex yards. Stock work is physically draining but with the correct layout 50% of the work is done. Tom Murdoch, Kobyoyn, Beckham, NSW The best money we have ever spent. Twynam & Elizabeth Cunningham, Cranbrook, WA We are able to handle large numbers of sheep without stress. Albert & Heather Cooke, Gilgandra 1800 805 292 stockyards@atlex.com.au www.atlex.com.au TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ORIGINAL ON-PROPERTY DESIGN SERVICE Travel to your property Assessment of your individual site and physical features such as existing yards, sheds, trees, dips, roads, fences and direction of stock flow using robotic survey equipment for mm accuracy Consultation with all the yard users to discuss your needs and ideas The flexibility of the Computer Aided Design allows for quick and easy editing to assess different design options Your continued input throughout the design process ensures you get the yards you want You benefit from our 31 years of experience which has enabled us to see thousands of different options and innovations in practical use 71

VACCINATIONS IN SHEEP University of Melbourne senior consultant for the Mackinnon project Dr John Webb- Ware specialises in farm management, financial and production analysis. The general rule of thumb with vaccinations was to consider what the risk is to your flock or herd, what the cost is, the effectiveness and then to ask what the return on investment would be if you were to use a particular vaccine, Webb-Ware said. Sometimes it s a bit more complicated in that you might get an outbreak very rarely; with most years not encountering any problems. Effectively in that situation, vaccinating would be more of an insurance policy. Webb-Ware said Clostridium was widespread and in most production systems there was a high risk of sheep being affected. He said given the cost of vaccinating against this bacterium was small, the cost-benefit of vaccinating a flock usually checked out. CLA, commonly known as cheesy gland, is another common disease in sheep that is widespread and worth vaccinating for. It is available in a 6-in-1 application. Webb- TALLY TAGS trading as Swingertag 2015 YeAr COLOur is sky blue (code c2) Pre-stabilised non brittle sheep ear tags in 20 different colours DeeP indent hot-foil stamping in contrasting colour Lot 440 Tudhoe St, Wagin, WA 6315 PO Box 89, Wagin, WA 6315 Ph (08) 9861 1290 Fax (08) 9861 1468 e: tallytag@comswest.net.au Ware said the cost of going from a 5-in-1 to a 6-in-1 application was marginal and usually worth doing. Ovine Johne s disease only requires a once off vaccine and was an important vaccine to consider in areas where the disease is endemic. Some people only do ewe lambs because they might be selling off wether lambs. But if you re not doing this, both should be vaccinated. Prime lambs don t need to be vaccine, Webb-Ware said. The Johne s vaccine is usually recommended to be given to sheep which are less than 16 weeks of age. Most producers in high rainfall areas where the disease is more prevalent are using the vaccine. Australian sheep producers are also being urged to consider deadly Campylobacter bacteria as a potential cause of production losses, with geographical incidence potentially more widespread than traditionally thought. Campylobacter can be a significant source of reproductive loss for Australian sheep producers, and should be considered as a potential reason why marking results lamb don t match scanning results, especially within their maiden flocks. Campylobacter is a bacterium that can cause infections in sheep, leading to placentitis, which is inflammation of the placenta. Placentitis can cause significant pregnancy or lamb loss for several reasons. These include poor oxygen and nutrient supply to the foetus, bacterial infection of the foetus leading to illness or death of the lamb at or after birth, increased contraction of the uterus causing abortion, and metritis (inflammation and infection of the lining of the uterus) in the ewe after abortion occurs. Campylobacter can be a significant source of reproductive losses in sheep because of the two major Campylobacter species. The impact to the farm can be significant production losses can be up to 40% loss of lamb foetuses and hidden lamb losses can average 9%. Financially, up to $40,000 per 1000 pregnant ewes can be lost. Campylobacter can also cause the loss of genetic improvement through reproductive losses, and infection can impact the health of the broader flock. Pregnancy scanning operator, lamb producer and rural reseller Adam Munro said the incidence levels of production losses due to Campylobacter was much higher than farmers realised. My observations from scanning indicate that bad weather, predators and mis-mothering are an easy scapegoat. I believe that late-term abortions are only the tip of the iceberg when dealing with Campylobacter. Many farmers see lambs born that do not have the vigour to get their first drink or even take their first breath and simply blame the season or previously mentioned circumstances rather than looking for causes like Campylobacter, he said. Coopers Animal Health Technical Advisor Jim Walsh recently presented on Campylobacter infection in sheep at the Sheep CRC Pregnancy Scanners Conference in December 2014. A blood test for Australia can now be used to detect exposure to Campylobacter infection in sheep that have lost lambs post scanning. Walsh said the blood test also revealed Campylobacter might be more geographically widespread than initially thought. It was previously thought that only certain regions of Australia were affected by Campylobacter such as higher rainfall areas of Victoria, Tasmania and southern parts of New South Wales. However, when Coopers Animal Health started using this new blood test on sheep farms in late 2014, the results confirmed farms in drier mixed farming areas and from as far away as Western Australia were experiencing reproductive losses as a result of Campylobacter, Walsh said. Coopers Animal Health produces Campyvax, which is the only vaccine that helps control reproductive losses due to the major Campylobacter species causing infection and aids in the control of abortion storms to increase lamb survival. The benefits of vaccinating against Campylobacter, where this is a flock issue, are improved lambing percentages and a healthier more productive flock. VACCINATIONS IN CATTLE Clostridial disease is also common in cattle and is protected by a 5-in-1, 7-in-1 or 8-in-1 vaccination, according to Web-Ware. The 5-in-1 just has the clostridial vaccine. Blackleg disease is reasonably common in cattle too, particularly when they re young. Although blackleg has been found in cattle as young as two months old, most losses occur in cattle between six months and two years of age. Occasionally, losses are seen in adult cattle. 72 Farming Ahead April 2015 No. 279

The only effective means of controlling blackleg is by vaccination. Several makes of multivalent vaccine are available, such as the 5-in-1 and 7-in-1. Webb-Ware said the cost of these vaccines was quite small and worth considering doing. Incorporated into Clostridial vaccine is Leptospirosis vaccine and that s the 7-inone vaccine. This disease is pretty widespread but at quite low levels. The disease can cause abortion in pregnant cows and farm workers can also pick up this disease themselves. So in that respect, it might be considered more important to vaccinate to protect farm workers, rather than the primary reason to be to protect against abortion in cows. Young cattle are also susceptible to Pinkeye and the one dose vaccination Piliguard prevents this occurring. Webb-Ware said if more than 7-8% of the herd was affected by Pinkeye, it was worthwhile investing in the Piliguard vaccine. The disease is most common in high drought years when producers are doing a lot of supplementary feeding. Considering vaccinating against calf scours and coronavirus was also important if it became a serious problem on your property. Webb-Ware said it was quite expensive and not likely to be cost-effective in most herds. If you are to go down this path, Webb- Ware says it might be worth targeting select groups, such as heifers, which were more susceptible to calf scours. Vibriosis is a common venereal disease of cattle transmitted by mating infected bulls to susceptible cows. Vibriosis also occurs in sheep, where the disease is spread by ingestion of contaminated water or feed. Vibriosis is caused by the bacterium Campylobacter fetus and can be vaccinated against as well with Vibrovax. Bulls only require two doses and an annual booster. Webb-Ware said as this disease can cause infertility, it s worthwhile to use, particularly when you re buying in females and there s cattle of unknown origin coming into your property. While it doesn t to be that widespread in southern Australia, we are uncertain of how widespread the disease is, so using the vaccine is more or less an insurance policy for your herd, Webb-Ware said. Bovine Virus Diarrhoea (BVD) and Mucosal Disease (MD) are caused by a pestivirus. There are a number of different strains of pestivirus. Some of these viruses are aggressive (virulent), others are mild, but the mild strains are still an important factor in the development of MD. The virus is widespread in cattle herds worldwide and locally. Herds become infected by contact with infected animals, especially with so-called carrier animals. Artificial insemination and embryo transfer can spread pestivirus. Although cattle are the primary hosts, pigs, sheep, alpacas and wild ruminants such as deer may also carry the virus. Vaccination can provide an important method of disease control in the management of BVD-MD infection. There are also many tests to assist in identifying the level of BVD-MD infection in a cattle herd. A blood test can identify antibodies to the virus indicating a prior (temporary) infection. It is also possible to test for the presence of the virus in carrier animals. Webb-Ware said the take home message with vaccinating was to do your own risk assessment on your property and really figure out whether each vaccination was cost-effective and necessary. Lamb marking percentages Lower than you d Like? Campylobacter can be a significant cause of poor ewe reproductive performance and lamb losses. You should consider Campylobacter as a potential reason for low lamb marking results. Campyvax is the only prejoining vaccine that helps control reproductive losses due to Campylobacter species in sheep. Make sure none of your hard work is wasted, talk to your local Coopers representative about securing your lamb numbers with Campyvax. Toll Free 1800 885 576 www.coopersanimalhealth.com.au Registered Trademark. AU/OVIC/0315/0004 73