Australian hide prices affected by mites
Australian hide producers may find mites are damaging their hides and eating into their profits. The mites leave pinprick-sized holes around the shoulders and rump on the split grain side of the hide.
Beef industry development officer at the Department of Primary Industries, Maria Crawford, told The Colac Herald that warm, wet conditions last autumn had provided optimum conditions for the mites and that the country’s hide industry was losing thousands of dollars each week because if the damage they have caused.
Many traditionally high-grade hides had had to be downgraded, she claims, with around 15% of wet blue hides affected over a six to eight week period.
“Cattle mite, Demodex bovis, is the suspected source for this problem, living in cattle hair follicles and causing small nodules to develop in the skin,” she told the news agency. “While there is no known registered chemical to treat this mite, its impact highlights the importance of cattle producers adopting optimum animal husbandry practices to improve herd hide quality. Skin damage from the Demodex mite does not usually cause the animal to itch or scratch and is often not visible until the hide is tanned.”
