“Farmers are receiving lower prices because they can’t move their cattle. As a result, they have fewer animals available to sell,” said vice president Friedl von Maltitz. Auctions are still taking place in many areas, but they were suspended for several months earlier this year, which also affected cattle prices.

“Stud auctions were also closed. And nobody could buy our bulls for the next season or new genetic material, so a lot of those auctions were postponed for many months.”

Deputy director for animal health and disease control in the Free State Dr Jurgens Barnard said there are 728 confirmed cases in the province.

This means the disease is still spreading, and new cases are being reported to them on a weekly basis. “Districts that remain the biggest concern include the northern and the eastern parts of the Free State, but we are seeing more cases now coming into the western and southern parts.

“Farms are put under quarantine to try and reduce the movement of infected cattle, and we try to get vaccines as soon as possible.

“We all know vaccination is not the only cure to try and prevent the spread of the disease. It’s a complete holistic approach with working together with the government. Some farmers still move their cattle and don’t have any biosecurity measures on their premises; we work daily on farms, and there are a lot of farms that don’t have the basic biosecurity, and those are infected farms.

“If we don’t start with the basic measures of just having to spray off vehicles or having clean equipment on farms, we are not going to win it by just vaccinating.”

Barnard said under-reporting remains one of the biggest issues, as some farmers fail to report suspected cases. “That leads to the infection spreading much faster in an area and makes it far more difficult for us to contain.

“When a case is reported, and the farm is placed under quarantine, there is a significant reduction in the spread of the disease.”

He said of the 728 farms placed under quarantine, 317 have since been cleared, and 411 remain under restrictions.

OFM News/Siyakholwa Mbatyazwa sm

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