Farm Diary March 25 2009

We have done a little bit of grass re-seeding at Tillington, which is highly risky in the spring, given that the ground dries out so fast, but we had sprayed off the old sward in the autumn, realizing after drilling the first four fields that it was too late, we stopped, leaving just the one; until now.

The fields drilled have struggled through the winter with a tinge of green, but are now growing strongly, and it will be interesting to see which works best.

The cows ask to be let out on Sunday for the first time this year. Monday morning, they had changed their minds! The warmth of the sun was bringing aromas of grazed grass, but as they sensed rain in the air on Monday, and the colder temperatures, they thought better of it, preferring to stay in the warm shed with easy access to plenty of food.

It would be so easy to turn out last week, but I have been there before, and on the clay at Plaistow, a good day's rain and they would be back in, and the milk would have dropped substantially.

The building work is preventing me from turning out at present, which is no bad thing maybe. The young heifer calves are enjoying the freedom of running in and out at Tillington, and are now getting used to the electric fences and grazing. They are looking very well, and each year we seem to be improving the dairy type and growth rates of our heifers, as we strive for the ideal liquid (drinking) milk cow to suit our system.

Vaccination season is upon us, as we spend a small fortune protecting our cows from BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis and Blue Tongue. These insurance premiums are extremely high, but necessary I'm afraid; but for how long? When do we dare stop?

Can we in the future, after a long period of blanket vaccination take the decision that, say if cows have not entered the herd for some years, we could stop vaccinating? The veterinary practice will caution against, suggesting that we would be fools to put everything at risk, but are they right?

Can we rely on them for an unbiased opinion? We are not in that position yet. Blue tongue is very different, and quite frankly, anyone that does not protect their animals against Blue-tongue at present is taking huge risks, and as we are the only country in Europe with still a chance to be free of this disease, I think that there is a collective responsibility to vaccinate. In the South East last year, we were on the front line, and we saved the country by vaccinating. We should do it again this year.

Talking of vaccines, Secretary of State Hilary Benn is pinning his hopes of tackling bovine TB with vaccines. Whilst the practical challenge of trapping badgers and vaccinating them is considerable, it could have a part to play. With cattle infected by bTB up by a massive 42 per cent in 2008 (39,247 animals slaughtered), a 19 per cent rise in new herd incidences, a 14 per cent rise in the number of herds placed under movement restrictions, and total cattle culled since 1997 now at over 200,000 head, with a total cost to the taxpayer of 657m, it is surely time to take action.

The disease is totally out of control by anyone's judgment, and government is under pressure from Brussels, the Treasury, and farmers to do something. Vaccinating badgers in areas bordering the disease to prevent it spreading could be useful, but the infected areas need culling, and a culling and vaccination plan combined would be a sensible approach.

An injectable vaccine for badgers will be used for the first time next year, and the ultimate goal as Hillary Benn states, will be an oral vaccine for badgers, and a vaccine for cattle. An oral vaccine for badgers is still a few years away, and a cattle vaccine at least ten years away. In the meantime this disease marches on, and I am still asking the same question.

Who is looking after the health and welfare of my clean cattle and clean badgers? Hilary Benn will not be in this job long enough to see future development, and he now stands alone against the dual approach of vaccination and culling.

There is no disagreement over the fact that wildlife is part of the problem; the disagreement is in how to tackle the problem. Elin Jones, the Welsh Minister is taking the combined route of testing all cattle in Wales, making cattle movements and bio-security more stringent, and a wildlife cull to remove the reservoir of re-infection: a sensible and courageous approach.

Several of my friends and colleagues have been stopped by police whilst driving in this area recently. Routine, nothing wrong, just checking. Very often there have been two police officers involved, sometimes with a motorcycle each.

With the scant resources available for catching criminals in the area, it is interesting to see unlimited resource deployed to harassing innocent motorists, whilst it seems to me that following the break-in and the theft of firearms from our house (amongst other things) we have 'no-go' areas, where the police do not even ask people to 'help them with their enquiries'. It is little wonder that the general public have so little faith, and that support for our police force is declining; nationally.