Visits to Burton Farm and Withymore Farm
I am grateful to the Rossiters and the Hockings for taking the trouble to explain more about the difficulties facing farmers in the South Hams.
For Anne and David Rossiter, who used to have a herd of 350 with 120 milkers, the trouble with bovine TB started in 2003. After 4 years struggling to contain the disease, complying with all the recommended measures, a further 89 were positive on blood tests in 2007 and they could not carry on. No one should doubt the devastating impact of bovine TB on farming families and the knock on effects this will have on our food security.
The Rossiters, like so many others in the South Hams, have stopped dairy farming altogether and are now arable and sheep farming. As a direct result, two full time employees lost their jobs. Have you ever wondered what happened to milk quotas? They are no longer an issue as the UK does not produce enough milk to meet our quota. Farmers like the Rossiters have had to diversify into tourism and also rely on the single farm payment to help make ends meet.
Graham Hocking is the 3rd generation of his family to farm at Burton Farm. He too has had to give up dairy farming in 2004 as a direct result of bovine TB. 300 more dairy cows missing from the hillsides of the South Hams. Having lost his dairy herd, it was simply too capital and labour intensive to restock a dairy herd so he switched to an organically reared South Devon herd. This was a closed herd from a TB free area, again reared with strict adherence to measures designed to reduce the risk of TB. Sadly, in November 09, they had 15 reactors and 8 inconclusives and have therefore not only lost 15 of their herd but remain under restrictions. The testing regime is labour intensive and not financially compensated, it is also very distressing for the cattle.
There is no doubt that badgers are an important reservoir for TB in cattle, and it is madness to allow the number of diseased badgers to increase unchecked whilst continuing to ruthlessly cull cattle. We know from the experience of farmers like the Hockings, that even herds that have had no exposure to other cattle and are reared organically, will go down with TB if grazing on land infected by badgers (which are super excreters of TB in their sputum, urine and faeces).
It is time for the government to take action.
