Dairy farmer counts R1.9m in losses due to foot-and-mouth disease outbreak

A dairy farmer in Magaliesburg said he has lost R1.9 million over the past two months due to a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak on his farm.

He said his entire herd of 700 cattle has been infected with FMD, resulting in a significant drop in milk production.

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His farm is among the first to receive vaccinations as the provincial government ramps up vaccination efforts after receiving 70,000 vaccine doses from Argentina.

FMD has cost the livestock sector millions of rand in losses and has seen significant increase in beef prices.

Beef prices are estimated to have increased by 30% in recent months.

Farmer Jaco Botha said the virus has led to a 60% loss in output in his operation.

“We are sitting at between 5,000 and 6,000 [litres of] less milk production per day. If you work that out over 50 days, it’s 250,000 litres of milk… you won’t recover that money back that is lost.”