READERS LETTERS
READERS LETTERS
Delays led to spread of F&M virus
It was evident in the early stages of the foot-and-mouth outbreak that delaying the slaughter of infected animals by up to six days and leaving the dead animals to lie for just as many days would lead to the virus spreading further.
The foot-and-mouth virus will not wait for bureaucracy or government complacency. Its mild symptoms continue to tear through the heart of the countrys sheep flocks. The prospects for my own farm are alarming.
I have no winter fodder left to feed my cattle due to the early housing as a result of severe wet weather in the autumn months. I am faced with the dilemma of purchasing fodder from other farms or turning my cattle out onto lush spring grass. Both involve similar amount of risk of exposure to the foot-and-mouth virus.
I am in a no-win situation with my pedigree show animals. Sales have been cancelled and once this virus has been beaten who will risk or have the money to purchase pedigree stock? It is time for the government to inform all disillusioned farmers of the aid which will be received.
It will be too late and of little benefit once bankruptcy and suicides have taken their toll.
Ivan Ashton
Ashtons Lawns Farm, Lawns Farm, Orrell, Wigan, Lancs.
Fast action may have saved us
Since the tragic circumstances of foot-and-mouth started to unfold, we have been overwhelmed by the response from friends, fellow farmers (local and countrywide), and the public. They have written, faxed and e-mailed us to express their sympathy and horror at the slaughter of our pig herd at Chilton Foliat, near Hungerford.
It has been a terrible time for myself, my family and our staff, particularly my pig manager, Simon Price, and his team. They have worked so hard to build up our high welfare herd over the past seven years.
The culling seems all the more senseless when we were told by a MAFF vet that they were the healthiest herd of pigs he had seen. I realise that this terrible disease must be controlled, but I cannot help thinking that if the sheep in the adjoining field had been slaughtered as soon as MAFF had made the decision to do so, my pig herd might have been saved. The manner in which this affair has been dealt with has been incompetent and inept.
I hope this horrible episode in our farming history is soon over and that those of us whose businesses survive can look ahead to better times. I and my staff are determined to rebuild our pig herd. Any doubts in my mind were removed by the terrific support and encouragement we have received.
I would like to thank everyone for their support. Your messages are much appreciated.
Alan A Holland
Highclose Farm Enterprises, Highclose, Chilton House, Charnham Lane, Hungerford, Berks.
Burning policy spreads F&M?
With the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the vicinity of killed infected animals being burnt; its possible that the policy of burning infected carcasses could itself be the cause.
The method involves preparing a bed of combustible materials and then laying the infected carcasses on this bed in some instances for many hours and then setting the pyre alight. It seems likely that a massive cloud of living viruses could be surrounding the bodies of the dead animals at the time of ignition.
It is known that when lighting a fire in the open air, at the moment of ignition warm air rises into the atmosphere. Hence its feasible that millions of the live viruses could be carried upwards by the warm air at the start of each fire to be carried to neighbouring areas by action of the wind.
In 1967 the disposal of infected carcasses was by means of a deep pit being dug, the bottom of which was the covered by a thick layer of lime upon which the carcasses of dead animals were placed. They were covered by a further layer of lime and sealed with earth infill. This method ensured that there was no possibility of live viruses floating around in the atmosphere once the pits had been filled.
Why has the current incineration policy been adopted? Has the possibility of live viruses being lifted high in the air been researched and eliminated?
MJ Bayliss
Hyde Cottage, The Dell, Bishopsgate Road, Englefield Green, Surrey.
Time to outlaw poor practices
To combat another incidence of foot-and- mouth or BSE, both of which were caused by feeding inadequately cooked animal by-products to animals, draconian legislation should be immediately enacted. We must enforce a total ban on this unnatural practice which simultaneously endangers the health of humans, animals and the farming industry.
It has become apparent that the pervasive drive to cut costs within the agri-food industry has led to many shoddy practices that are not being adequately policed from within. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a stringently enforced ban is the only viable option to combat FMD, BSE or something worse, as yet undiscovered.
Thomas Downey,
7 Loanda Crescent, Newry, Northern Ireland.
We pay price of idiotic policies
Any country, such as Blatcherite Britain, that is stupid enough to adopt trade policies which encourage imports of meat from African and South American countries where FMD is endemic can expect plagues like we have now. The UK has no need to import any meat.
It was a government decision to expose farmers to this unacceptable risk of imported disease and it is the governments job, not that of private insurance, to pay compensation for all actual and consequential losses in the rural economy. Much of that economy is without income.
Any review of the role of British farming must decide what size and what sort of livestock sector the nation requires. It will need a decision at national, not European, level.
UK farmland needs a minimum number of livestock to maintain the fertility of arable land. But – bearing in mind the high land, input and support costs of much of Britains livestock production – anything above that level is open for discussion.
The only meat available in Britain should be home-produced, extensive, of the highest quality and expensive to reflect the high costs of production.
Cheap food brings its own rewards – rampant animal disease and zoonoses, degraded soils, polluted commodities and widespread rural unemployment and depopulation. Farmers are being driven off the land in droves by the machines and production processes they have felt compelled to adopt.
With FMD, do not discount sabotage. One country that the RAF bombs regularly is the worlds leading exponent of chemical and biological warfare and a major exporter of "asylum seekers".
It will come as no surprise to Britains few remaining hard-pressed and increasingly desperate farmers that they are again expected to pay the penalty for the idiotic policies and non-policies of present and past politicians.
Stuart Pattison,
Church Lane, Calstock, Cornwall.
Crisis started to stop march?
It was interesting to read the anonymous letter (Mar 16) as I thought I was the only person who thought the foot-and-mouth crisis was started by this government in order to halt the Countryside March. The march will not take place before an election.
I was amazed to hear on local radio recently a spokesperson for the Countryside Agency saying that the countryside was not shut down and that it was business as usual. Dont they ever get out of their warm Cheltenham offices or are they only interested in tourism or those people that wear brightly coloured clothing and come to the countryside for the peace and quiet and make as much noise as possible.
I think it will take more than a march to make people realise that the problem in the countryside is very serious and something must be done about it sooner rather than later.
John Hore was almost right when he said the dairies should pay 3-4p/litre more. Everyone should pay 3-4p/litre more right the way up the food chain to the customer. The same goes for all other foodstuffs before there is not one farmer left. Or is that another part of the governments master plan?
Ronald Carr
Rambler House, Hill, Berkeley, Glos.
Hunts quick to cancel all meets
In response to the letter "Hunting causes disease spread" (Mar 16), I would like to point out how quick the hunts were to cancel all meets in the first week of the current outbreak – as should have been the case with racing.
Hunting and other equestrian events will continue when it is absolutely safe to do so. We should not forget that we have enjoyed more than 30 years of hunting since the 1967 outbreak with no re-occurrence, until infected meat or swill was used on our farms.
Mrs B Moffat,
The Annex, Hamswell Farm, Lansdown, Bath.
Exodus from land a real fear
With foot-and-mouth spreading remorselessly through the land and farmers trapped between dread and despair, NFU leaders must be aware of the governments permanently metropolitan indifference to the anguish of the rural communities.
At this time of great weakness in agriculture, the government may use this opportunity to exploit their wish for large-scale restructuring. With the rural landscape frozen in fear, the suffering goes far beyond the farmers whose herds and flocks are infected.
Delayed compensation payments or refusal to deal with that major item of consequential loss, and low valuation of slaughtered stock, may cause great difficulty for those who have to buy replacements when the outbreak is over.
On TV, we have already had an overdose of that hater of most farmers, Sean Rickard. As a government adviser, he is already injecting poison into the debate.
With little sign of hope for the rural economy, it is no longer alarmist to fear an exodus from the land.
Gordon Day
The Pheasantry, Panton, Market Rasen, Lincs.
Tanker drivers hygiene-friendly
As a regular reader, I was upset to read your opinion "Dont let up on milk tanker hygiene" (Mar 16).
Being a tanker driver with friends who are farmers or connected with farming, I am disgusted at the lack of precautions many farmers take to prevent the spread of the disease. Some do not even bother to lay down a disinfected straw mat.
Myself and many colleagues spend two to three hours extra per day at work because of time taken to disinfect lorries and diversions due to collection at D-form farms at the end of runs. Many hours are spent wearing uncomfortable, sweaty waterproofs, and dipping feet in many unknown substances which may do untold damage to drivers health.
Please, dont do the tanker drivers down. We do have sympathy for the farmers. And, dont forget, we are worried about our jobs too.
Mark Phillips
16 Woodhall Close, Ombersley, Droitwich, Worcs.
Whippet racing is called off
I write to you on behalf of the Whippet Club Racing Association, to advise that all racing has ceased at affiliated clubs for the present due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
We are strictly an amateur sport that consists of family members racing their pet pedigree whippets after artificial lures. As most of our clubs lease/rent ground from or near to farmers we want to give them our full support against this terrible disease.
We cannot even begin to imagine the distress and devastation it must be causing your readers. We hope that it has reached its peak and will be resolved shortly.
Miss Carolyne Rabbitt
Valley Farm, Dean Street, East Farleigh, Maidstone, Kent.
NFU backing May election?
I feel compelled to write after the NFUs support of the cull of healthy livestock in areas where the disease is rampant. I think we should ask ourselves some questions.
Why is it taking MAFF up to 10 days after the confirmation of an outbreak to cull and dispose of the carcasses? This alone must be one of the greatest vectors of the disease.
If there is going to be a general cull of livestock why was it not done at the outset to minimise the numbers of healthy livestock that have to be culled?
Why cannot the government clarify the guidance rules on access to the countryside? There are mixed options issuing from government.
Why are we still consuming imported meat from countries which have had recent outbreaks of FMD such as Swaziland?
I feel the government is trying to pave the way for a May election with the full support of the NFU. I will give my annual NFU subscription to an agricultural charity.
P Denee,
Laverstoke Grange, Whitchurch, Hants.
Gift scheme for livestock
Could the NFU and the CLA organise some sort of telephone pledging of stock to enable farmers to assist each other once this foot-and-mouth outbreak is over. The farmers who lose their stock obtain compensation but it wont pay current bills and the cost of future stock.
Would it be possible for those with stock to gift 1% of their stock to those who lose all, replacing say 50% of dead stock. I think many farmers would be willing. But the NFU/CLA would have to organise a scheme. I will happily pledge some sheep. If the national sheep flock is about 19- 20m, the slaughter policy will have to be dropped well before flockowners left have to donate a significant proportion of their animals to assist those who have lost out. As farmers, we should never consider our enemies to be each other.
P W S Killick
Portway House, Leysters, Nr. Leominster, Herefords.
Swallow pride – ask for help
We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our Royal family or its help and support in our hour of need.
First, to Prince Charles for donating £0.5m to help farming families and those who followed his genuine concern. Those include the Duke of Westminster for his generosity, The Daily Mail for starting its appeal and the many people who have or will give to such a desperate cause.
But, as the woman from RABI said on early morning TV, the funds are available, what is needed is for the farmers to ask for help. We, as livestock farmers, have become accustomed to struggling over the past few years, mainly through no fault of our own. We have paid bills as and when we can and relied on the goodwill of many firms to be patient and sit in the queue.
FMD has now upset the delicate balance. We have to swallow our pride and ask for help before it is too late.
Second, we would like to thank our Queen. It appears that she is the only person able to bring common sense to the racing world.
Many of our local farmers, ourselves included, have tried to stop racing at Lingfield in Surrey. Most of the traffic travels past our farms on its way to the course. We have remained free from foot-and-mouth and hope to remain so. We do not want race traffic coming from all parts of the country travelling from or through infected counties.
It amazes us that the farm minister has the authority to kill millions of healthy animals but cant, or wont, stop racing. But, then again, money talks.
G & J Jackson
Little Heydon Farm, Crowhurst, Lingfield, Surrey.
Sympathy from metal detector
I wish to show my sympathy to farmers because I, along with many of my friends, owe much to the farming community for many hours of pleasure which we derive from our hobby and their hospitality.
Our hobby is metal detecting and with farming in crisis most of us are unable to visit farm land because we do not wish to spread foot-and-mouth.
I look forward to the day when all this death and destruction is behind us and the land is free to walk on again. I also look forward to talking face to face with the farmers who I have come to know and appreciate for what they do for the metal detecting fraternity.
Ken Thornton
Wakefield, West Yorks.
Christian faith sees me through
I count myself fortunate that I have a strong Christian faith, which has seen me and my family through several years of business strife and mental and physical pain. Without my faith I would surely have perished.
Prayer can help bring an inner peace to all in the farming community that are struggling with the foot-and-mouth disease. My prayer is that our church leaders will call for a week of national prayer. I know what it is like to have my back against the wall but please believe me: "God is good, all the time".
Keith Rudyard
Security & Property Maintenance, 4 St Cuthbert Street, Wells, Somerset.
Violent end to right to roam?
Farmer beaten by dog walker? Is this the likely headline after the right to roam bill?
Peter Clarke
The Gardens, Harrowbarrow, Callington, Cornwall.
Walston points are incorrect
Oliver Walston is once again way off mark in his article in The Times, "Britain is littered with the skeletons of failed Industries," (Mar 15). He began the article by condemning the CAP. Does he not know that it was designed to keep millions of Europes peasant farmers in the countryside?
Specifically, it was designed to avoid adding to housing and unemployment problems which blighted countries after the first World War.
He then went on to say: "One of the two arms of the CAP, was the self-sufficiency of farm food within the EU." That is also untrue. Mainland Europe has always been self-sufficient in temperate food. Had Mr Walstons 2000 acres been in Bavaria or Normandy instead of Cambridge, it would have been split amongst 200 peasant farmers. But the total tonnage would have been greater, because the yield of fruit and veg is heavier per acre than wheat or barley.
However, his biggest faux pas was setting out how UK farming would match world food production costs, once the subsidies were removed.
Proof that too was false, is that pre-World War Two, the UK used free trade to import over 70% of its food to keep industrial wages low, in order to give British manufactured goods a sales edge for exports.
Had UK farmers been able to compete, the volume of imported food would have fallen well below 50%, not risen to above 70%.
George Scales
Cobblers Pieces, Abbess Roding, Ongar, Essex.
A foregone conclusion
It is suggested (News, Mar 9) that Mr Blair will set up a Royal Commission to look at farming. I could save the taxpayer another wasted fortune and predict the results.
They include: Higher standards for British farmers for all livestock and crops and prime stock to be sent direct to slaughter. There will be restrictions on movement of livestock; markets and traders will be the scapegoats for all ills. Also there will be proposals to further limit the movements of livestock together with a proposal to ban live exports.
Farmers will be encouraged to diversify away from production and open their farms to the public. Supermarkets will come out of a crisis smelling of roses as they will have enough money to pay lobbyists to promote their aims.
Nothing will be proven about suggestions that foot-and-mouth has come from imported meat from a country where the disease is endemic. Imports of cheap meat and other foods will continue, as will calls to tighten standards and create more paperwork and jobs for the boys.
The sheep sector, with live and carcass export, is the most viable of all our livestock sectors. But with no livestock auctions to create a price, prices are in free-fall and theres no sign of a revival.
Supermarkets are hell-bent on achieving farm-to-abattoir direct sales by cutting out livestock markets. There are far fewer abattoirs in this country than in 1967 and that is why the disease has spread so quickly.
Sale and procurement business has worked exceedingly efficiently since 1967 and we should ensure these systems are not torn apart and blamed for a disease which has almost certainly emanated from where it is still endemic. We need to export beef products and we need to limit the imports of cheap meat.
Supermarkets will not want this as at present they have the beef market sewn up. Supermarkets will not want us to resume beef export as they would then lose control of the consumption and the price to the producer would rise.
R Hyde
Brimfield Cross, Nr Ludlow, Salop.
Army points on land story
Two important points were misleading in your article "MoD land purchase will destroy farms (News, Mar 3).
First, we own the land or have a long-term lease with the owner. The MoD is seeking to compulsorily purchase commoners rights that exist over that land.
Second, the public inquiry is non-statutory. It was the MoDs wish to hold an inquiry so that the issue could be dealt with in the most transparent manner. The public inquiry was not imposed on us.
James Gaskin
Army Press officer, Headquarters 42 (North West) Brigade, Fulwood Barracks, Fulwood, Preston, Lancs.
Dont fight the inevitable
I disagree with your views (Opinion, Jan 19) that we are at war and must fight conservationists and other pressure groups. There are more of them than there are of us farmers, so we have no hope of winning. Since we cant beat them, we must join them.
Most ordinary farmers do not want to go down the road of increasing production. It is too hard and self-defeating since it only increases surpluses and decreases prices. No matter how ruthlessly and intensively we farm, we will never be able to compete with the world market price for any standard commodity.
We must have a better tactic to ensure our future existence. We must talk with all our denigrators. Let us accept that farmland birds are in decline, ask the RSPB for the solution and act on it. At the same time we should point out to RSPB that if British farming is put out of business by the combined forces of the WTO and the supermarkets, there wont be any farmland for birds.
The same goes for welfare. We all want to treat our animals kindly. The pressure to do otherwise comes from the necessity to produce meat at low prices in order to sell it. If we cant make any money out of meat production here, it will all be produced abroad, where welfare standards are lower, or even non-existent.
Lets explain, patiently and kindly to all these people that most of us want to farm in a civilised way but we cannot exist without a profit margin. It is not in their interests to drive us out of business, either immediately or via a phase of larger and more intensive farms.
Ask them to help us to survive, for their sake, as well as ours. As a minimum, we need protection against imports of cheap food that is produced in ways of which they disapprove. We also need protection from the power of the supermarkets. The farmers share of the £ consumers spend on food is shrinking steadily. There is no logical reason why it should.
If the millions of members of pressure groups would help us find ways to make farming again an enjoyable and profitable occupation, we could promise to husband our land and animals in the best possible way. Economists mostly seem to think farming is expendable and unimportant. We need to convince these popular movements that it is in their interest to preserve farmers. The animals and the countryside need us.
Pippa Woods
Osborne Newton, Aveton Gifford, Kingsbridge, Devon.