“Facial Eczema” Research

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20989, 16 December 1939, Page 23 (Supplement)

“Facial Eczema” Research

The “facial eczema” experimental programme for the 1939-40 season has now been put into operation at the Ruakura Farm. At the Karamu outstation the main investigation is to secure samples of herbage which are known to be toxic. Grass is being mown from the fields which gave eczema last year and is being fed to penned sheep. If it can be shown that the cut grass will cause the disease then the tracking down of the causitive agent will be greatly simplified. On the hill paddocks at Karamu sheep are being rotated through the various fields on the management lines adopted last year on the flat to see if this type of rotation is a factor in inducing eczema. Some sheep are also being maintained on grass kept constantly green with

irrigation, while the usefulness of mature feed as a preventive of “facial eczema” is being again tried out on both the hill and flat areas. At Ruakura two iields which gave eczema in 1938 and a few cases in 1939 have been divided into four fields and are being managed on the lines of the fields on the flat at the outstation at Karamu. If these fields give eczema as regularly as the fields on the flat at Karamu, it may be possible to concentrate the eczema research at Ruakura, points out the report presented at last week’s meeting of the Ruakura Farm Advisory Committee. A further trial is being conducted on the hill paddock to see if a definite system of rotational grazing with 20 dry spells will prevent eczema. Artificial Insemination An interesting survey of the investigational work that has been carried on in the Waikato in regard to artificial insemination was given by Mr A. L. Thompson, veterinarian, Ruakura Animal Research Station, at a recent meeting of the Ruakura Farm Advisory Committee. Although no extraordinary results have been obtained, the work has been productive of much interesting and informative data. A report presented at the meeting indicated that the work for the season had commenced on September 1. In view of the poor results obtained last year, and as the work had to be done in commercial herds, continued the report, it was considered advisable to start artificial inseminations at an earlier date than is customary with natural services in case the results should prove to be unsatisfactory. If the results had been favourable, and 60 per cent or more first insemination conceptions obtained, then artificial insemination would have been continued for a longer period and possibly right through the season. Towards the third week in October, however, there were indications that results would not be good enough to warrant continuing the work, and with the exception of one herd, no further inseminations were done after that time. Last year, unfortunately, practically all the farmers whose herds participated in the artificial insemination work suffered' some loss and inconvenience through having cows calving late. This was due to the bad results obtained with artificial insemination, and by carrying on with the work too far into the month of October. The result was that a number of those cows which would normally have held to natural service at the first heat period after the bulls were put out, did not get in calf until three weeks later. There was one exception and the results so far obtained in this herd have been very encouraging, the owner deciding to depend entirely on artificial insemination this season. This decision will be very valuable in that it will be possible to compare the results obtained by artificial insemination with the results obtained by natural matings through a complete breeding season. Furthermore it is a very good example of the value of artificial insemination in those cases where as the result of injury causing deformity a valuable sire would otherwise have to be discarded because of his inability to perform natural service. When work was commenced, it was expected that use would be made of a much greater number of cows, but owing to various unforseen circumstances, chiefly connected with the outbreak of war, work was interrupted on several occasions and only about half of the anticipated number was inseminated.