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THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 19, 2021
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‘Game-changing’ on-farm bTB test
Labour crisis takes its toll INCREASED wages are doing little to solve the food and farming sector’s labour crisis, with the fallout from Brexit and covid-19 both weighing heavy. Growers have warned of supply shortages if crops are left unpicked or are unable to be packaged and processed, while meat processors said the sector was in danger of collapse when the workload increases this autumn. Competition for workers is so high that some firms have raised hourly wages by 5% and companies such as West Sussex vegetable specialist Barfoots of Botley have promised a £600 (about $1181) bonus if workers stay for 12 weeks this summer. But NFU horticulture and potatoes board chair Ali Capper says wage rises were not the solution. “We need an immigration policy that is fit for purpose and while our sector is lucky in that we have the permit scheme, it is not bringing us enough people and I can only see the EU picture getting worse,” Capper said. She called on the Government to make the Seasonal Agricultural Workers (SAWS) pilot scheme permanent to instil grower confidence. “Anxiety levels are at the highest I have ever known them and the lack of labour could decimate our industry as growers will not plan to produce the same volumes in the future to mitigate this risk,” she said. The British Growers Association said margins were already being squeezed, with employers investing in “very necessary and important” regulations to keep staff safe from the virus. Covid-19 illnesses, isolation rules and travel restrictions have compounded an already tight situation, with many workers who returned to their home countries during
the final weeks of Brexit not showing any signs of returning and new immigration rules which no longer permit freedom of movement for EU nationals. The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) said its members, who process the vast majority of the country’s red meat, were currently facing a 10-15%shortfall in staff. “The UK Government is responsible for ensuring there is sufficient food for the nation and that responsibility is in serious danger of collapse later this year,” a SAMW spokesperson said. “Members are just about managing to meet current demands for meat, but this is a relatively quiet time of the year.”
Members are just about managing to meet current demands for meat, but this is a relatively quiet time of the year. SAMW There is a cross-industry call on the Government to relax the restrictions on foreign workers, with one option a short-term visa, which would allow EU workers to be employed in the UK for a set period of time. Speaking to Farmers Guardian at the Great Yorkshire Show last week, Defra secretary George Eustice said they “are discussing whether there should be a further extension of the SAWS pilot or whether indeed we should try to do a more permanent scheme, but we are not in a position yet to make any final decisions”. UK Farmers Guardian
“How the test will be used we are not absolutely sure,” Yewdall said. “It might be used as a back-up to the skin test to confirm animals we are not sure about.” Research to date shows that it tallies with the gamma interferon test on positive readings. It could also be used to differentiate between animals that are infected or vaccinated, allowing the introduction of a vaccination programme and as a pre-movement test. “If I was buying or selling a cow, to find out if it has got Johne’s
PROCESS: The blood test analyses live mycobacteria and gives a simple “positive” or “negative” answer within six hours.
Dairy farmer earns Olympics spot A US track-and-field athlete who grew up milking cows on the family farm has secured her place at the Tokyo Olympics after setting a new trials record in the 1500m race. Competing at the US Olympic track-and-field trials in Oregon last month, Elle Purrier St. Pierre set a new trials record of 3min, 58.03sec, to seal her seat on the plane to Tokyo this summer. The Vermont dairy farmer beat the old record set by Mary Slaney more than 30 years ago, the Boston Globe reported. St. Pierre has said that farm life shaped who she is as an athlete. The 26-year-old would milk the cows on the family farm in Montgomery before
or TB prior to sale would be a massive game-changer. It would prevent the disease from being moved around,” he said. One of the benefits of the test is its simplicity – the sample doesn’t need to be stored under special conditions and it can be posted to the laboratory. Yewdall lost a third of his dairy herd in Devon following a positive TB test and some of the animals he bought to replace these showed signs of Johne’s. “I hope Actiphage will eradicate this disease,” he said. UK Farmers Weekly
heading off to school. “Growing up on a farm, I just feel like you always have this sense of responsibility,” she told the New York Times. Other farmers with Olympic pedigree include Somerset farmer Ed Ling, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the men’s trap shooting. “I love my farming and I love my shooting. I’ve done my shooting, now I want to get back to the farm,” Ling said after his win. Peter Wilson, whose family farm in Dorset, won gold in the double trap shooting at the London 2012 Olympics. Wilson “broke his first trap” when he was 12 and partly attributes his interest in shooting to his upbringing on the farm. UK Farmers Weekly
ON TRACK: Elle Purrier St. Pierre (centre) competing at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. Photo: Reuters
Agrievents Building Your Farm and Family Futures Presented by Family Business Central & Whanganui and Partners. Workshop #4: Wednesday July 21, 1pm – 5pm How to have the Family Conversations regarding the Farm, the Business, the Family. For more information go to: https://www.whanganuiandpartners.nz/resources/ building-your-farm-and-family-futures Know Your Mindset. Grow your influence Programme run across two sessions: Module 1: Online Zoom • Pahiatua - Tararua/Wairarapa Tuesday 27 July, 7.00-8.30pm • Invercargill (1) - Southland Monday 6 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Invercargill (2) - Southland Monday 6 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (1) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 22 September, 7.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (2) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 22 September, 7.00-8.30pm Module 2: In person • Pahiatua - Tararua/Wairarapa Wednesday 11 August, 12.00-2.30pm • Invercargill (1) - Southland Tuesday 21 September, 12.00-2.30pm • Invercargill (2) - Southland Tuesday 21 September, 6.00-8.30pm • Lake Karapiro (1) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 29 September, 9.00-11.30am • Lake Karapiro (2) - Waikato/Bay of Plenty Wednesday 29 September, 12.30-3.00pm Light refreshments (lunch or supper) will be provided at the face-to-face workshops. Cost: $30 per person, covering both sessions To register: https://www.awdt.org.nz/applying/ Should your event be listed here? Phone 0800 85 25 80 or email adcopy@globalhq.co.nz
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INCENTIVE: Competition for workers is so high that some firms have raised hourly wages by 5%, with some offering bonuses.
A NEW test, costing £30 (about $59) a cow and described as a “game-changer” in preventing the spread of bovine TB and Johne’s disease, could be used on UK farms as early as next year as a back-up to the statutory skin test. East Anglian firm PDB Biotech is seeking validation from the World Organisation for Animal Health for its Actiphage blood test to be accepted as a tool for detecting disease in herds classified as TBfree. Currently it can be used only with special permission from the Animal and Plant Health Agency in chronic breakdown herds. Former dairy farmer Jonnie Yewdall, who estimates that TB cost his business up to £400,000 and who is now commercial director of PDB Biotech, says a validated test could be authorised for use in TB-free herds next year. “We are at the scientific stage of testing and we will go into the field later this year to start testing, to prove that the positives are positives and the negatives are negatives,” he said at an online Agri-TechExpress event. Actiphage tests for live mycobacteria and gives a simple “positive” or “negative” answer within six hours.
