September 3, 2026 • 8 mins
Morgan Greene puts into perspective the slow grass situation that is being experienced in the south at the moment.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
The musters animal health segment with ns vets adding value
through practical advice and service no gimmicks no potions total
vet care.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
One of the greatest songs of the greatest soundtracks of
the great movies of all time. It is Underworld with
Bourne Slippy from Trainspotting back in 1995, just for Morgan
Green of NSFETS. Good afternoon, Morgan.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I appreciate it. Good afternoon, Andy.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That chain just takes you back.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's cool. Oh, look, it certainly does. It was a
heck of a movie, and it was while I was
at university, and actually we had... And there was vet
colleges in Edinburgh and in Glasgow. So, you know, it
resonated a wee bit, the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Jeez, mate, we're sounding old.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
We can probably leave it at that.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Now, out there in the fields, paddocks and the likes
at the moment, the milking parlours, you guys will be
on the ground. It's the middle of getting through calving now.
Labbing's about to kick into gear. It's all go.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Oh, look, it is. And in many different respects. calving
for a lot of people is well through there's lots
of cows in milk Sam in particular has been doing
lots of colostrum visits so just seeing what's happening in
(01:39):
the colostrum period just making sure that everybody is dotting
their I's and crossing T's from the point of view
of their processes and procedures because that then sets those
cows up um, for the milking herd. And it's, you know,
it's really important. So, you know, that's been one thing
that's been really busy and then tied in with that,
doing a lot of blood testing of calves to see,
(02:01):
have they actually received enough colostrum? So we can test, um,
total protein in the serum, in the blood serum of
the calves. And that gives us an idea, look, actually,
have they received enough colostrum? Because that then allows us
to have a bit of a retrospective look at what's
been happening from the point of view of calves getting colostrum.
(02:23):
Are they getting it quickly enough? Are they getting enough
of it? Is the quality of it good enough? So
there's all of those aspects. Is the colostrum being stored adequately?
All of those things kind of tie in together. Just recently,
just in the past week or so, we started into
a fair bit of metric checking and metric hearing. So,
(02:44):
you know, that's been going in full swing and to
be fair, the results so far have been disappointing is
probably the wrong word, but you know, we've, we've been
treating more than we probably normally would. So I think
a bit of a reflection of the tough start to
Calvin and the tough start to August. So that's, you know,
(03:06):
that's been another sort of wee challenge out there. And then, Yeah,
we're dealing with a little bit of disease. So there's
been some salmonella in some dairy herds. So we're dealing
only with one, fortunately, but the calves have been hit
pretty hard. So we have had it confirmed as bovis morbificans,
which is probably the nastiest form of salmonella. And to
(03:28):
be fair, how nasty it is is probably in the
title when it's bovis morbificans, so death to bovines. And
that's effectively what it is doing. So we're seeing about
a 30% death rate in the calves that have been affected,
which is pretty high. And that seems to be the
kind of the standard for that particular form of salmonella.
(03:49):
And I know from talking to some of the other
vets in the area that there's a bit of salmonella
happening further south too. So we've been fortunate here in
Northern Southland. We're only dealing with the one case. Haven't
had any Brandenburg in use aborting confirmed. So that's been good.
that's been a real positive. And now that we're at
(04:09):
the stage where sheep pretty much, the vast majority of
ewes are spread out, we shouldn't have any problems from there. So, look,
a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. It's
been busy. I think we've done more calvings this year
than at the same time last year. There's always a
few health challenges around. Town cows have been a bit
(04:32):
of a concern for some people and then for others
no challenges whatsoever so you know a bit of a
mixed bag um as it always is but you know
there's a lot of stuff that you can't control and
you can't really uh worry about that too much just
concentrate on the stuff that you can control and you
know we're in the same boat as well we can't
control what the weather is like we can't control a
whole load of things we can just you know try
(04:54):
and do the best job that we can do each
and every day and hopefully come from the other side
with a smile on our.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Face Based on that, what are your words to people
who are concerned about the lack of feed at the moment?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Look, it's a tough one because you have to really
go and try and source some feed from somewhere. And
to be fair, I think there is feed about. There
is baleage around, there is silage around, so there is
a source of feed. People obviously, if they have facilities
(05:25):
for in-shed feeding as well, well, yeah, great, you're going
to be able to ramp that up to a higher
level than what you might normally have done. So there
are certainly options out there. It may seem, certainly the
grass situation here in Northern Southland is tight, but with
a couple of better days of weather that we did have,
(05:47):
I know pretty awful stuff Sunday and Monday, but yesterday
and the day before were pretty good. So you can
actually see that We are looking like we're heading into spring.
The grass has just changed colour a wee bit, and
there's a bit more body to it as well. So, look,
I think things are just about to turn around the corner.
I know the forecast for next wee while is a
(06:11):
bit average again, but things can change, and it is
just a matter of trying to deal with the stuff
that's thrown in front of you and, as I say,
control what you can control and don't worry about the
stuff you can't.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So this is no different to what we've had to
experience in previous springs?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Oh, yeah, look, it's probably been a little bit different.
I think probably August this year is certainly worse than
August last year. August last year was pretty good and
then led into some really poor stuff after that. So,
you know, I guess we're not out of the woods
by any means just yet. But, you know, I guess
these things sort of come around and it's just a
(06:49):
case of dealing with it. Some days it's certainly harder
than others. There's no two ways about that. We had
snow on the ground here on Monday night, Tuesday morning.
So it's always tough. And the wind chill was not
particularly nice. But as I say, yesterday and the day before,
we were up at sort of 19 degrees. So it's springtime.
(07:12):
It's changeable. And you just deal with it, enjoy the
sunny days, and just get on with the poor days weather-wise, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Likes of slips and yews, for example, nothing out of
the ordinary to date?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
No, no, it's been really good, actually. For us, certainly,
in Northern Southland, I haven't spoken to any of the
vets further south or over in the Clutha district to
know exactly what's going on over there. But, you know,
certainly from a yew point of view, it's been really good.
No major drama. There have been a few metabolic issues,
(07:47):
especially in some triplet-bearing vets. use but other than that
it's been pretty good yeah things have taken along not
too bad from that point of view.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The team at NSFET's Morgie if people want to get
in touch what do they do?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Oh look just pick up the phone give us a
call at Riversdale it's 2025636 or Te Anau it's 2497039
and yeah we're available.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
24-7 Morgan Green always good to catch up here's some
more born slippy.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
To see you out Oh thanks Andy.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Morgan Green of NSVETS, official animal health advisors to the muster.
We were awaited to meet and next we're catching up
with Michelle Watt in the Country Crossover.
The musters animal health segment with ns vets adding value
through practical advice and service no gimmicks no potions total
vet care.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
One of the greatest songs of the greatest soundtracks of
the great movies of all time. It is Underworld with
Bourne Slippy from Trainspotting back in 1995, just for Morgan
Green of NSFETS. Good afternoon, Morgan.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I appreciate it. Good afternoon, Andy.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That chain just takes you back.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's cool. Oh, look, it certainly does. It was a
heck of a movie, and it was while I was
at university, and actually we had... And there was vet
colleges in Edinburgh and in Glasgow. So, you know, it
resonated a wee bit, the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Jeez, mate, we're sounding old.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
We can probably leave it at that.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Now, out there in the fields, paddocks and the likes
at the moment, the milking parlours, you guys will be
on the ground. It's the middle of getting through calving now.
Labbing's about to kick into gear. It's all go.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Oh, look, it is. And in many different respects. calving
for a lot of people is well through there's lots
of cows in milk Sam in particular has been doing
lots of colostrum visits so just seeing what's happening in
(01:39):
the colostrum period just making sure that everybody is dotting
their I's and crossing T's from the point of view
of their processes and procedures because that then sets those
cows up um, for the milking herd. And it's, you know,
it's really important. So, you know, that's been one thing
that's been really busy and then tied in with that,
doing a lot of blood testing of calves to see,
(02:01):
have they actually received enough colostrum? So we can test, um,
total protein in the serum, in the blood serum of
the calves. And that gives us an idea, look, actually,
have they received enough colostrum? Because that then allows us
to have a bit of a retrospective look at what's
been happening from the point of view of calves getting colostrum.
(02:23):
Are they getting it quickly enough? Are they getting enough
of it? Is the quality of it good enough? So
there's all of those aspects. Is the colostrum being stored adequately?
All of those things kind of tie in together. Just recently,
just in the past week or so, we started into
a fair bit of metric checking and metric hearing. So,
(02:44):
you know, that's been going in full swing and to
be fair, the results so far have been disappointing is
probably the wrong word, but you know, we've, we've been
treating more than we probably normally would. So I think
a bit of a reflection of the tough start to
Calvin and the tough start to August. So that's, you know,
(03:06):
that's been another sort of wee challenge out there. And then, Yeah,
we're dealing with a little bit of disease. So there's
been some salmonella in some dairy herds. So we're dealing
only with one, fortunately, but the calves have been hit
pretty hard. So we have had it confirmed as bovis morbificans,
which is probably the nastiest form of salmonella. And to
(03:28):
be fair, how nasty it is is probably in the
title when it's bovis morbificans, so death to bovines. And
that's effectively what it is doing. So we're seeing about
a 30% death rate in the calves that have been affected,
which is pretty high. And that seems to be the
kind of the standard for that particular form of salmonella.
(03:49):
And I know from talking to some of the other
vets in the area that there's a bit of salmonella
happening further south too. So we've been fortunate here in
Northern Southland. We're only dealing with the one case. Haven't
had any Brandenburg in use aborting confirmed. So that's been good.
that's been a real positive. And now that we're at
(04:09):
the stage where sheep pretty much, the vast majority of
ewes are spread out, we shouldn't have any problems from there. So, look,
a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. It's
been busy. I think we've done more calvings this year
than at the same time last year. There's always a
few health challenges around. Town cows have been a bit
(04:32):
of a concern for some people and then for others
no challenges whatsoever so you know a bit of a
mixed bag um as it always is but you know
there's a lot of stuff that you can't control and
you can't really uh worry about that too much just
concentrate on the stuff that you can control and you
know we're in the same boat as well we can't
control what the weather is like we can't control a
whole load of things we can just you know try
(04:54):
and do the best job that we can do each
and every day and hopefully come from the other side
with a smile on our.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Face Based on that, what are your words to people
who are concerned about the lack of feed at the moment?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Look, it's a tough one because you have to really
go and try and source some feed from somewhere. And
to be fair, I think there is feed about. There
is baleage around, there is silage around, so there is
a source of feed. People obviously, if they have facilities
(05:25):
for in-shed feeding as well, well, yeah, great, you're going
to be able to ramp that up to a higher
level than what you might normally have done. So there
are certainly options out there. It may seem, certainly the
grass situation here in Northern Southland is tight, but with
a couple of better days of weather that we did have,
(05:47):
I know pretty awful stuff Sunday and Monday, but yesterday
and the day before were pretty good. So you can
actually see that We are looking like we're heading into spring.
The grass has just changed colour a wee bit, and
there's a bit more body to it as well. So, look,
I think things are just about to turn around the corner.
I know the forecast for next wee while is a
(06:11):
bit average again, but things can change, and it is
just a matter of trying to deal with the stuff
that's thrown in front of you and, as I say,
control what you can control and don't worry about the
stuff you can't.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So this is no different to what we've had to
experience in previous springs?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Oh, yeah, look, it's probably been a little bit different.
I think probably August this year is certainly worse than
August last year. August last year was pretty good and
then led into some really poor stuff after that. So,
you know, I guess we're not out of the woods
by any means just yet. But, you know, I guess
these things sort of come around and it's just a
(06:49):
case of dealing with it. Some days it's certainly harder
than others. There's no two ways about that. We had
snow on the ground here on Monday night, Tuesday morning.
So it's always tough. And the wind chill was not
particularly nice. But as I say, yesterday and the day before,
we were up at sort of 19 degrees. So it's springtime.
(07:12):
It's changeable. And you just deal with it, enjoy the
sunny days, and just get on with the poor days weather-wise, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Likes of slips and yews, for example, nothing out of
the ordinary to date?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
No, no, it's been really good, actually. For us, certainly,
in Northern Southland, I haven't spoken to any of the
vets further south or over in the Clutha district to
know exactly what's going on over there. But, you know,
certainly from a yew point of view, it's been really good.
No major drama. There have been a few metabolic issues,
(07:47):
especially in some triplet-bearing vets. use but other than that
it's been pretty good yeah things have taken along not
too bad from that point of view.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The team at NSFET's Morgie if people want to get
in touch what do they do?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Oh look just pick up the phone give us a
call at Riversdale it's 2025636 or Te Anau it's 2497039
and yeah we're available.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
24-7 Morgan Green always good to catch up here's some
more born slippy.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
To see you out Oh thanks Andy.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Morgan Green of NSVETS, official animal health advisors to the muster.
We were awaited to meet and next we're catching up
with Michelle Watt in the Country Crossover.
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