New Zealand’s readiness for foot and mouth disease is about to be put to the test, with a farmgate exercise set for the 13 of May in Taranaki. It is part of a wider programme running through to mid-July, designed to test how ready the country really is.

Campbell Parker, chief executive of DairyNZ and chair of the FMD Council, says the council, made up of six industry livestock bodies and MPI, agreed to an FMD operational last year to ensure a clear plan exists should the disease reach our shores.

“Not one agency can do this alone,” Parker says.

“Testing it with the various agencies, making sure we have clarity around what the kind of playbook is, should it ever turn up, and how you have a full industry and government response is really important.”

The exercises will test readiness, identify gaps, and work out how to fill them. A key lesson from the Mycoplasma bovis response, which Parker describes as a formative experience for the sector, is how important animal movement traceability is.

“I think there’s a need on us as industry to continue to educate farmers around not only what the risks are, but what the signs are and what they can practically do on farm.

“There’ll be some that are well researched and have a clear biosecurity plan,” he says.

“Should it ever turn up – because we can’t just rely on the borders being controlled – we have a clear plan around how we will act.”