A Beef + Lamb New Zealand study analysing fresh sheep manure aims to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema is affecting farms across New Zealand.
Animal health research principal scientist Cara Brosnahan, of Wellington, said the "sheep poo study" recently entered its third and final season.
Low levels of facial eczema spores had been detected on four sheep farms in Otago during the second season of the study.
Spores had also been discovered on one Southland sheep farm in the first season of the study.
All grazing livestock, excluding horses, could contract the disease when they ingest enough toxic fungal spores in pasture, predominantly ryegrass.
Farmers were told when a facial eczema spore had been detected in one of their manure samples.
Those farmers were asked to continue sending manure samples to track spore numbers.
If spore numbers were increasing, farmers were recommended to contact a vet.
The spores were a fungus in the environment and could start to rise in certain environmental conditions.
Livestock might not show clinical signs of the disease if they had ingested a low level of spores, she said.
Hidden signs of an infection in livestock include a lack of productivity or an increase in empties at pregnancy scanning.
Clinical signs of the disease had been detected between Northland and the West Coast, Dr Brosnahan said.
More than half of the manure samples provided by farmers in the top half of the South Island had clinical signs of the disease.
The study had shown farm elevation, pasture height and a neighbour’s spore counts might influence the risk of facial eczema.
Researchers aimed to confirm those relationships in the study’s final season.
Participation in the study was free and simple, Dr Brosnahan said.
Farmers collect sheep manure samples every two weeks from October to May.
Beef + Lamb provides the kits and pays for postage.
Farmers providing manure samples would receive results to better understand their facial eczema risk, a $40 subsidy on faecal egg counts tested and a chance to be one of 25 farms selected for monthly faecal egg counts and larval culture testing from October to May.
By joining, farmers would protect their own flocks and contribute to a national solution for a disease, which costs the sector more than $330million each year.
The final season of the study was critical, Dr Brosnahan said.
"We need more farmers to take part, especially if they’ve never had facial eczema detected on their farm before — those results help build our understanding of this devastating disease."
When pasture-grazing livestock ate enough facial eczema spores it caused liver damage, which could result in reduced fertility, weight loss, lower milk production, photosensitivity, sunburn and, in severe cases, death.
"There’s no cure so you’ve really got to be on top of the management before that happens."
Catlins sheep farmer Graham Evans wanted more of his southern counterparts to collect their flock’s fresh manure to track how the facial eczema was affecting farms.
"We don’t know what we don’t know, do we?"
He was taking part in the study, collecting fresh sheep manure from his property Barr Falls Farm in Owaka and posting it to researchers since the study was launched.
The process to collect and send the faecal samples took him about 30 minutes.
No facial eczema spores had been discovered on his property, he said.
The disease spreading to the South was inevitable.
"It doesn’t matter whether you believe in climate change or not. It’s going to happen."
He was taking part in the study to do his part to help future generations of farmers.
He hoped more southern sheep farmers would take part in the study, as condition differed between sheep farming environments, such as the Catlins to Central Otago or Eastern Southland to Western Southland.
