Agricultural Bulletin A Briefing For Farmers And Land Agents

We look at how UK farmers areresponding to theplague of diseases affecting their livestock and the changing fortunes of the dairy industry. We also examine the EU Commission's proposed capping system.

DOUBLE DISEASE BLOW FOR UK FARMERS

Foot-And-Mouth And Bluetongue

The outbreak of FMD and bluetongue has had severe implications for UK livestock farmers. Defra responded quickly to the spate of FMD cases, but the longterm outlook for bluetongue is dismal.

UK livestock farmers were badly hit by two serious diseases this autumn. At the start of August, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) broke out in Surrey*. Fortunately, FMD is relatively easy to control if action is swift and decisive. The outbreak was restricted to a single county and markets are returning to normal. However, the second livestock disease to materialise this autumn - bluetongue - may have long-term consequences.

FMD tramples Surrey

At the first sign of FMD in August the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) acted promptly and applied the usual restrictions. The situation was brought under control quickly and most of the restrictions were lifted within a month. In mid-September, a further case of FMD was confirmed, followed by a number of other cases, all clustered in Surrey.

The size of the outbreak and number of animals slaughtered was tiny compared to the 2001 FMD epidemic. Nevertheless, it has had a disproportionate effect on the UK livestock industry and caused a great deal of financial hardship. The timing couldn't have been worse. Lamb prices collapsed as the ban on exports resulted in a glut of lambs (particularly light lambs).

Furthermore, not only is autumn the period when animals are moved down from the hills to winter pastures, it is also the peak store sales season; movement restrictions disrupted these activities.

Fortunately, the UK agricultural departments have responded to the financial problem. Defra has announced a package worth a reported £12.5m (the main component consists of extra Hill Farm Allowance payments). Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has introduced a welfare scheme to cull lambs for which there is no market.

It appears that the source of infection in August was a leaking pipe at the Pirbright facility. Coupled with heavy rain and building work, the virus was able to escape. However, it is not clear which of the two organisations at Pirbright - Merial or the Institute of Animal Health - was ultimately responsible for the failure of bio-security.

Bluetongue blows in

On 22 September, a Highland cow near Ipswich, Suffolk, was found to have the bluetongue virus. This was the first reported case in the UK. Defra hoped that it would be an isolated incident. Instead, it had to announce that the disease had established itself in the area.

Blame the midges

According to Defra, a species of biting midges, blown across from the continent, carried the virus to Britain. It is now circulating between the local midge population and ruminants.

Bluetongue is a non-contagious disease. It is common in sheep in southern Europe, but flocks affected in northern Europe have had mortality rates of around 40%. Even where animals do not die, the disease reduces productivity. Thus, the economic effect is potentially disastrous for the UK, which has Europe's largest sheep flock.

Dealing with the problem

With the bluetongue outbreak confirmed, exports of live animals have been banned and the movement of animals outside the defined 'bluetongue protection zone' have been restricted. An automatic culling of infected stock will not halt the spread of the disease in the same way that it does for FMD, because the virus is not spread from animal to animal. Thus, short-term prevention efforts focus on the carrier population, midges - which is obviously difficult.

A vaccine is likely to be the only way of controlling the disease in the long term. Efforts are well underway to produce an effective vaccine for the strain of the disease circulating in the UK. But this is not expected to be available until next year at the earliest. The best time to undertake a vaccination programme is in the spring, before the virus-carrying midge population becomes too active (it peaks during late summer and in the autumn). There are concerns over whether a vaccine will be ready to this timescale, and if there will be enough to immunise every animal in northern Europe.

The impact on...