Inquiry into alternative controls for TB

The fast-track review was announced at the Northern Farming Conference, in Harrogate, by Anne McIntosh, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, which monitors DEFRA’s work.

Mrs McIntosh, Tory MP for Thirsk, Malton & Filey, called for evidence and said she expected to report by March next year. She did not expect to stop badger culling as one strategy, but she did want to compare the costs of a vaccination strategy against compensation for culling cattle.

She also wants to explore European obstacles such as the need for approval of a UK-developed test to distinguish between vaccinated animals and TB carriers.

Mrs Mcintosh was speaking at a press conference before the main conference. Keynote speaker was to be Lord de Mauley, one of the new Defra ministers, but he had to attend a meeting on ash disease. His place was filled by Julian Sturdy, a farmer who became MP for York Outer in 2010.

Mr Sturdy said that whether ministers would admit it or not, a new CAP agreement would not be in place for January 2014. Mrs McIntosh agreed and revealed there were 7,000 proposed amendments to the draft document still to be worked through.

Summing up the prospects, Mr Sturdy said: “Everyone in Europe is having to tighten their belts and we must do our share.”

On the direction of government policy, he referred to a grant to the Beef Improvement Group, in East Yorkshire, to look into the genetics of efficient feed conversion. He said: “The government wants more projects like this. DEFRA is working with the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills to get us an ambitious new ag-tech sector and has called for information on what the strategy should address.”

One theme of the day was ‘the farming ladder’. A first-generation farmer from Perthshire, Michael Blanche, who set out buying 50 sheep on his credit card, spoke about going round the world on a Nuffield scholarship to talk to others.

He had been humbled by the passion for self-sufficiency he saw in Cambodia and hard work in the outback of Australia.

In New Zealand , he met a farmer who lived on bread and cheese for eight months to get himself started.