Foot and Motuh views from auctioneer Richard Turner

The 3rd August foot and mouth outbreak was damaging enough to the industry with the loss of export and saturation of the home market, auctioneer Richard Turner has said. “Coupled with having to concentrate two month’s of store markets and breeding sales into one month further restricted by the six day movement stranglehold imposed by DEFRA, we now have to cope with this.”

He says the industry now faces a bleak autumn and a large percentage of the farming industry will be on the poverty line before Christmas. “Even when this outbreak is contained, primestock will not move to slaughter for over a week, slaughter markets will not operate for another three weeks and it will be well into October before store markets and breeding sales can operate.”Farmers are facing extra costs holding livestock on farms which should have gone to market, primestock is spoiling, export markets are lost and the home market is going to be saturated with unsaleable meat causing a free fall in farm gate market prices.

He even goes as far as suggesting DEFRA should seriously consider a vaccination strategy.