Farm Diary - October 21 2009

We are getting as much muck out as we can to the heavier soil maize fields, so that it can be spread and winter ploughing can take place so that the overwintered soil is easier to work down in the spring.

We are also spreading dirty water in order to empty the second lagoon, in preparation for winter storage. More sheep have arrived, and they are all munching through the grass nicely, enjoying perfect conditions.

Rain is forecasted for this week, and that will bring all operations to a halt for a few days I expect; we shall see.

We have also taken delivery of some sheep which were in desperate need of a safe haven, following attacks by dogs. At least five of the ewes have been killed or put down by the vet as a result of their injuries, and a very grateful farmer quickly loaded them on to a truck and delivered them to Crouchlands. Dog attacks on sheep are still a major problem in the countryside, and are easily avoidable.

Keep dogs on leads when walking through fields with stock (remember that cows will chase a dog more often than not), and if you live in close proximity to stock, never allow your dog or dogs to run free; it is their natural instinct to hunt, and sheep make for easy prey.

We had more visitors from Defra last week to look at the Anaerobic Digester, which is still in the process of being heated.

Some electronic valves have arrived which will give us better control of the process, enabling us to automate the heating through our computer systems. The temperature is now climbing slowly, but I expect it to take a further three weeks or so before it is up to the operating temperature of 38 decrees Celsius.

The gas is still too heavily laden with CO2 and Hydrogen Sulphate for it too burn, but we expect the Methane content to increase as the temperature of the substrate in the tower goes up; patience, patience.

Biogas is finally taking off in the UK, with real interest from farmers and processors. Government wants to see 15% of all power produced from renewable source by 2020, with possible grants and tax breaks to develop the technology.

Defra's own publication 'Anaerobic digestion '“ shared goals', states that 'By 2020 AD will be an established technology in this country, making a significant and measurable contribution to our climate change and wider environmental objectives'. Defra also supports the NFU vision of 1000 on-farm AD plants by 2020.

The TB Eradication Group set up by Government to look at how we tackle this terrible disease has issued its first report. The inclusion of the word 'eradication' is a massive step on its own with this government, but of course they are now under real pressure from Europe and also from the treasury.

The group has recommended that all cattle movements are tightened up and those stricter measures are taken with cattle which are 'inconclusive' when tested. The European Union is now making funds available to assist in this battle against such a difficult disease, and we are all prepared for the long haul.

It could take 20 years to rid this country of this disease, and that could be conservative, as it has a 'long tail', and this time, we must persevere to the end, and not allow it to reappear as happened in the past.

The fact that the report states the need for a wildlife cull option to remain open, gives every farmer in the land hope that this time, there is a chance. International evidence shows clearly that this disease cannot be brought under control or eradicated in areas where the risk from wildlife is not addressed.

Hilary Benn made it impossible for this group to go further than that with the specific terms of reference, but I get the feeling that the farming industry is looking forward to working with a different Secretary of State who will grasp this nettle, and start the long process of bTB eradication in this country.

I gave evidence to the EFRA Committee last week, who are trying to find out what went wrong with the Co-operative Dairy Farmers of Britain. It was a tough session (I expected nothing less) and found myself resisting a line of questioning which wanted the NFU to reveal the industry gossip and tittle-tattle (of which there is always plenty) rather than sticking to the facts.

I also found myself defending the Co-op 'model', which was under attack, following the demise of DFoB.

I pointed out that there is nothing wrong with the model; it is all about management. After all PLC's fail every day of the week, but no one questions that model. I do think the Co-operative rules need looking at, after all they are very old, and in need of an update, but with good management, other Co-op's (such as Milklink) have shown how successful co-op's can be.

I explained to the Efra Committee that the NFU is a trade association, and we are only privy to information if others care to involve us, which does happen often.

However DFoB chose not to do this, and we were constantly re-assured that all was well, whenever we had meetings with the management. I just hope that the Efra committee does get to the bottom of what went wrong by questioning those who were there, and did take the decisions.

They failed miserably a few years ago when looking into the supply chain, and they are still looking for the 'missing 10p' as the chairman stated during our evidence.