Welcome to our Facial Eczema Risk Spore Count Bulletin for 2026 – this article will be updated each week, so please revisit to see what the spore count is in your area.
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Counts for week ending 20 Feb 2026
| Feilding | Awapuni | Tararua | Taumarunui | Levin | |
| No. of sites monitored: | 20 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Average Spore Count | 30,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| Highest Spore Count: | 185,000 | 90,000 | 70,000 | 110,000 | 140,000 |
| Lowest Spore Count: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 |
| Facial Eczema Risk Rating (Based on average spore count) | HIGH | HIGH | MED-HIGH | HIGH | HIGH |
All areas are recording an average of HIGH or MED-HIGH.
There are still a lot of paddocks that are not at this risk level, so bring in grass from your farm to assess your risk level.
The highest spore count this week was 185,000 on a non-sentinel farm on the north side of Feilding. Other high counts from our sentinel farms are recorded in the PDF bulletin.
A one-off high count above 30,000 can affect the liver and zinc should be at full rates in water or feed and zinc boluses should be administered. A few weeks at slightly lower levels of 15,000-20,000 can have an accumulative effect and this advice also applies for those farms.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call or speak with your vet if they are on farm.
Where we monitor
Resources
Spore counts can vary greatly between properties and even between paddocks. We encourage farmers to bring in grass samples to get a more accurate idea of the facial eczema risk on their own property. Spore counting is $37 (incl GST) per sample, dropping to $30 for multiple samples.
For instructions on how to cut grass for spore counting, please see HERE
What is a toxic spore level? It is best not to use absolute levels, as stock grazing pasture with spore counts as low as 20,000-40,000 can sustain liver damage. More important considerations are rate of spore count rise, prevailing weather conditions, and grazing intensity at the time. Toxin effects on the liver are cumulative. Play it safe – start prevention as soon as spores are detected.
Contact us if you would like more information on bringing in your own samples for testing.