FARM DIARY

All farms shut with no movements of livestock again, and this at a crucial time for beef and sheep farmers, when sheep come off the hills before winter, and all the traditional store lambs and store cattle sales taking place across the country.

In the South East, many of the dairy herds are busy calving, and with no calf sales will soon run out of room for rearing young calves.

It is a double blow this time, as we were only allowed to start moving stock off farm a few days earlier, following the last outbreak. It now appears that the outbreak was notified from the second farm to contract the disease, as the symptoms had been missed on the next door farm.

This does then fit the pattern that infection was during the FMD 'window'. There has been some criticism of Defra for lifting the restrictions too quickly, but this was not the case.

Defra did in fact follow the time-table with every move carefully assessed, and the Commission in Brussels declaring themselves satisfied with the way the disease had been handled.

The European Dairy Event held in Warwickshire each year has been cancelled this week due to the outbreak, with considerable losses to both organisers and all the exhibitors.

Other events and gatherings across the country will no doubt be affected in the same way. We can only hope that the disease will be contained and we can get back to normal as soon as possible.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette September 19