Farming

Voice Of A Farmer

Silaging on Rawston Farm in the 1960s. Image: James Cossins Silage has been replacing hay-making on British farms since WW2, becoming the main form of conserving grass to produce feed for the over-wintering of cattle.

In last month’s article I mentioned that we farmers did not enjoy any useful rainfall during the whole of April and that we, and other growers, could do with some in May. But last month we’ve had rain almost every day!

So far the totals amount to 150mm or 6 inches. This has led to the rapid growth of our

with James Cossins, a 5th generation farmer in the Tarrant Valley.

meant that the silage making process of providing winter feed for cattle has been severely delayed. At least when the weather does improve we shall have a good crop although may be lacking in quality.

Much of the farming politics has been involved with the trade talks with Australia.

The result of the Brexit Deal has led to the United Kingdom being able to negotiate trade deals with countries outside the EU. with Australia may be a bad deal for the farmers. With a tariff-free deal being on the table this could mean food being imported produced at lower standards to those expected in this country. This would put the UK producer at a disadvantage and unable to compete on price.

Let’s hope there will be better labelling in place soon so that consumers have accurate information of how and where the food was produced, and hopefully will support local producers where possible.

With the weather now improving we have been able to get on with our silage making providing feed for our cattle next winter.

It’s always an exciting time of year bringing in the first harvest of grass especially when you are relying on various bits of machinery not to break down!

Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease of cattle, but can also infect and cause disease in badgers, deer, goats, pigs, llamas and alpacas. In the UK, human cases of TB caused by M. bovis infection are rare. Bovine TB is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK cattle farming industry today, particularly in parts of Wales, the West and here in the South West of England. Image: Andrew Livingston

Bovine TB at Westleaze.

by Andrew Livingston

Last month we had the dreaded news that our herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle had gone down with Bovine Tuberculosis.

This was the first time that any of our cattle had contracted the disease in the ten years that they have been grazing the Beaminster Downs.

The positive reactor, which was discovered through our annual herd test, has large ramifications; infected cattle are to be slaughtered and we are now unable to move any cattle off our farm till they all test negative twice - after 60 and 120 days.

Due to the high cases of the disease in Dorset, we have to test our cattle yearly for signs of the disease, as opposed to every four years in low-risk areas. Otherwise, we would only test the animals that are due to move off the farm within the next 60 days.

Once a risk to human health in the UK, Tuberculosis today simply causes stress and emotional heartache as farmers have their livelihoods slaughtered due to the disease.

TB testing in cattle began in England in 1935, as milk drunk from an infected dairy cow would transmit the disease. As with today, infected cattle would be slaughtered to stop the spread of the disease, which nearly led to the disease’s eradication in the 1970s. soon discovered that badgers and deer were carrying and continuing to spread the disease across the country. Last year, in England alone, over

27,000 cattle were slaughtered

due to the disease.

The solution?

Realistically, there isn’t one solution. And it’s a bit of a hot topic to bring up!

The Government have had a three-pronged approach to be TB free by 2038; testing, culling and vaccinations.

Many areas across England have been actively culling the badger population and it was announced in February that this was to be continued in Dorset, Somerset and Devon.

DEFRA has recently set a five-year plan to have an effective vaccine for cattle. Currently, there is one, however it has an effectiveness of around 60% and when tested a vaccinated cow will automatically test positive for the disease. Badgers can be vaccinated, but only by injections, so they must be caught in a cage and treated. This makes the process extremely costly; a five-year vaccination programme for badgers in Pembrokeshire worked out at £684 per badger. Last year saw a 10% reduction in Bovine Tuberculosis slaughters in England - but it’s not enough.

All of our cattle are to have blood tests in the next month to definitively see the toll of how many more will be killed. Any animals that are slaughtered are compensated for by the Government, but the real cost is the mental effect on the farmer.

Despite what many people may think, we love our animals. We breed them, raise them and spend every day of our lives with them. We give up family time to spend hours in the pouring rain with the boys and girls out in the fields.

It’s a case of having one of your own slaughtered, and farmers will do anything to stop that.

Andrew’s dog Fred keeps an eye on the Aberdeen Angus herd at Westleaze farm.