NEWS
A dry spring so far? Not really...
A
sk Gauteng smallholders whether they
think this spring has
been particularly dry and
most will answer “yes”,
plaintively asking as a followup “when are the rains
coming?”
Well, here's the bad news:
comparing our rainfall figures
from the beginning of
September each year to the
20th of October (just as we
went to press) for each year
since 2000, this year's
precipitation of 34mm places
2016 more than halfway up
the rankings. Both last year
(13mm) and 2014 (21mm)
were drier when comparing
the days of September and
October up to the 20th.
2005 was the driest for these
days, at only 8mm, while
three years later, in 2008 we
were blessed with a very early
rainy season, at 205mm, the
wettest period we have
recorded.
The perception that this year
is particularly dry is probably
created by the heatwave that
frazzled the province in early
October, and by the fact that
most of those 34mm fell quite
early in September in one
intense spell of 26mm over a
couple of days.
mm
Year
Newcastle Disease confirmed
T
here have been
confirmed outbreaks of
Newcastle Disease in
various locations in Gauteng.
According to a veterinary
source this is not unusual at
this time of year, with cases of
the disease having been
confirmed in Marister and in
Ekurhuleni’s south eastern
townships.
Newcastle disease is a highly
contagious viral disease with a
90% mortality among poultry,
and with some effect also
among waterfowl, pigeons
and ostriches.
The virus is easily transmitted
by infected birds, can survive
outside of the host bird for a
while, can spread by airborne
transmission, and can also be
spread by visitors bringing it to
one’s plot on their footwear,
vehicles etc.
The disease is also notifiable,
meaning that cases must be
reported to the State
Veterinarian in one's area,
who will likely order the
culling of an infected flock
and may, depending on the
severity of the outbreak,
declare a quarantine over an
area.
The disease is preventable
through a simple, cheap
vaccination programme, with
a number of vaccines
available, the most common
being a variant sufficient for
Continued on page 10
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Rainfall: East Rand, 1 Sep-20 Oct,
2000-2015