FORMER president of NSW Farmers and Corowa landholder Derek Schoen is the incoming chairman of the NSW Footrot Management Program.
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Mr Schoen said the aim was to provide oversight in regards to managing the problem in NSW.
Technical advice and will be delivered by a newly reinstated Footrot Technical Committee, which last operated in 2009.
Other members of the agricultural sector will join Mr Schoen on the team to help combat the issue of footrot, which is considered one of the banes in the sheep and wool industry for producers.
New Footrot Steering Committee members include fellow sheep industry enthusiasts and delegates from the agricultural industry.
Steering committee members:
- Scott Watkins (Finley)
- Craig Mitchell (Cooma)
- Will Martel (Wellington)
- Jock Fletcher (Walcha)
- Plus three Local Land Services representatives and a delegate of the CVO from NSW DPI.
NSW Department of Primary Industries senior veterinary officer, Amanda Walker, will serve as the executive officer.
Mr Schoen said the new committee will serve a three-year term and aims to build on the success of the NSW Footrot Steering Committee, which was formed in 1988.
"By 2009, the whole of NSW was declared a Footrot Protected Area with virulent footrot prevalence of less than 1.0 per cent, which was one of the goals of the original strategic plan," he said.
"The footrot program is recognised as a positive example of the results which can be achieved when industry and government work in partnership," he said.
"We thank the outgoing chairman and committee members for their commitment to the management of footrot in NSW."
More information about footrot and its management is available from the NSW Department of Primary Industries website, https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/sheep/health and Local Land Services.
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