Farmer ‘numb’ after two-thirds of herd wiped out in a day
IN NOVEMBER last year, farmer Philip Fee’s day started like any other.
As he started up the parlour for the morning milking, the fact that he had a routine BTB test a few days prior was perhaps in the back of his mind.
As with any busy farmer in the current climate, he had plenty else to think about.
However, as the day went on, he grew concerned.
Looking through his cows, he noticed lumps on necks; a clear sign that they had reacted to injections given during the test a few days previous. TB was highly, highly likely.
He soon noticed more cows and more lumps. He counted roughly 20 cows with lumps. Mentally, he prepared himself for the worst.
Official readings from the vet confirmed what he already knew.
22 of his 35-cow milking herd, along with two baby calves, were TB positive. They would have to be culled, and his herd closed.
“It leaves you numb, you don’t know where to turn,” he recounted.
“Once the vet leaves the yard, you are on your own. No-one from the Department calls to see how you are coping. You have to get on with it.”
Overnight, Mr. Fee’s farmyard went from a hive of activity to eerily quiet.
Of the 13 cows left, only five were giving milk.
They still had to be milked twice a day, and due to the large numbers of cows culled, the Department placed restrictions on Mr. Fee from buying in new cows.
Left with a decimated income, bills to pay and a house to keep, Mr. Fee admitted it was a “hard, tough four months.”
“It was a big hit, and it has you losing out that income for four months, with meal and diesel to be paid,” he said.
“I was milking five cows for four months. The lorry was coming every day, but lifting hardly any milk.”