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Midges and vaccine plan put the bite on long-suffering farmers
The thin blue line is making life difficult for farmers and marts. Chris Berry reports.
Around this time of year, midges can be irritating. If you're out for a country stroll near to dusk on a humid day, they can be particularly annoying.
But for livestock farmers, they have become persona non gratis, Public Enemy Number One.
Bluetongue disease, carried by the midges, is the latest in a long line of viruses and scares that have blighted the agricultural industry for close to 20 years.
Bluetongue is bad news for farmers because although it is non-contagious, it is disrupting the way they market their stock and has had a knock-on effect for the livestock mart operators and the future of their businesses, although livestock prices for sheep and cattle are largely going well at present.
The main problem lies with what is now referred to in some quarters as the "thin blue line". This is the border which Defra places between an area classed as within the surveillance (restrictive) zone and those outside. Unfortunately, a midge will not be aware of them when it is flying around.
There have been no cases of Bluetongue in Yorkshire. Yet nearly all the county is now within the surveillance zone – the area which is now generally referred to as "dirty" as opposed to the area above the line which is now referred to as "clean".
When the restrictive zone was first put into place, the thin blue line made life very difficult for the likes of Wharfedale Mart, in Otley, and York Livestock Centre, who found that their trade was immediately reduced through no fault of their own.
Ian Smith, auctioneer at Wharfedale Mart, says: "Bridge End, in Otley, was effectively our border, so it meant that we couldn't sell into North Yorkshire at all. With us being where we are, a huge number of the farmers we serve could not be looked after as we would do normally."
When a case of Bluetongue was detected in Lincolnshire earlier this year, the thin blue line was then moved further north, which took Otley and York out of the picture. But it simply transferred the problem to the likes of Leyburn and Darlington.
Charmaine Fletcher is the company secretary of Leyburn Mart, which serves Yorkshire's Upper Dales farmers as well as lower-lying farms to its south and east and large areas of County Durham. It is usually an interesting mix but one that has been hit hard. Charmaine says: "The boundary of the surveillance area finishes at Jervaulx and we have a lot of customers from down that side, particularly with calves and store stock. The result for us has been that we have sold only one-third of the calves we did last year. Store cattle are down by one-third too, and we were very quiet with hoggs (sheep) early on in the season.
"It seems to me that you're okay if you're a mart that's either well in, or well out, of a particular zone. But being on a border is not good. Marts don't make a lot of money. We work off a commission and the shareholders are the farmers themselves, so we'll keep going, but March, April and May returns have eaten into our profit.
"You try to put a bit by for eventualities but there is a fine line between making money and not making money. Long term, if the position remains the same, we probably couldn't carry on in the same way as we are now. But we're hoping that summer will bring about changes to the areas, particularly with vaccinations taking place."
During the coming months, all UK livestock is being vaccinated against Bluetongue. The process started a couple of weeks ago in the south-west of England, but it is not compulsory – something that has caused concern among farmers and auctioneers.
Tony Thompson, of Thirsk Mart, is sceptical. "They're talking about it being voluntary, but if it is, then as far as I'm concerned they may as well not bother. It should be made compulsory and monitored properly. I know that means more paperwork but in the long run, it will be to the farmers' advantage."
Ian Smith is gearing up for another possible poor time in the coming weeks as the vaccine arrives in West Yorkshire. "We've been gradually building back up since the zone moved north, but this coming week sees the vaccination programme due to start in both the East Riding and West Yorkshire and that could have potential problems for us for a while."
While he is of a similar opinion to Tony Thompson on the subject of voluntary or compulsory vaccination, Ian reports that farmers in his area are right behind the programme. "I think everyone sees it as a must-do. All we want to do is get on with looking after our farmer customers properly again."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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