Meet the farmers who believe a special supplement they have developed can stop the Burren being a TB blackspot

The farmers found specific mineral deficiencies when they got together to blood test their herds, and they are confident a ‘bespoke’ supplement based on the results can fix their problems

Agroup of Clare farmers have joined forces to try to get to the bottom of a long-running local problem with tuberculosis. The Burren in north Clare has been a TB blackspot for decades, with no apparent reason for the high incidence and severity of infections.

Members of the Burren IFA have taken it upon themselves to research this situation in recent years, and have just developed a supplement that they believe will drastically improve the health of their animals and reduce their susceptibility to TB.

The genesis of this project began 20 years ago when Dr James Moran, who was then working with the BurrenLife Project, undertook a survey of the mineral content of the grasses in the Burren.

Dr Moran, who is now a lecturer in biologyandecologyattheAtlanticTechnological University in Galway, discovered a number of mineral deficiencies in the diet of the cattle, especially on the winterage of the Burren uplands.

This research led to the development of the ‘Burren ration’, a supplement which helped the cattle remain healthy and fight off infection.

Over time however, this ration fell out of use and the Burren farmers returned to using standard feed supplements.

In 2016, the Burren IFA in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture made a concerted attempt to discover why the cattle in the Burren were more susceptible to TB.

Local farmers, working with Teagasc officials, undertook a series of surveys on farms where TB had been detected.

This initial survey prompted blood tests to be carried out on reactors in a number of farms and was a vital step in getting to the bottom of the Burren TB mystery.

“It started off with the research of James Moran. The minerals he found were lacking in the grass are a lot of the same minerals we have found lacking in the blood of the animals,” says Michael Davoren, chair of the Burren IFA.

“Completely independent of this research, but relevant nonetheless, we were seeing all these TB outbreaks in the Burren. We got the Department down to do the blood sampling and to do a bit of research.

“There was also a survey with lots of questions for the farmers and one of the questions was whether the farmer fed minerals to their cows. It was clear that around 80pc of farmers were feeding general minerals to their cows, because they had no proper alternative.

“It was clear to us in Burren IFA that this was an issue. At that point, we got the Department to check the animals to see if there was any issue with their immune systems.

“When the results came back we found that around 80 of the 120 animals we had tested had very low immune systems. We knew we had to look into it deeper.

“But after that Covid came in and, for one reason or another, the Department stopped doing their research.”

Last year, six farmers from different areas of the Burren came together to self-fund the testing of their stock, including healthy animals. Each farmer paid to have the blood of 10pc of their stock analysed. The results came as a major shock.

“We felt things weren’t as they should be with our animals and it was worth getting into it properly and finding out what was really going on,” says Mr Davoren.

“All the blood tests were nearly a carbon copy of each other. They were all low in cobalt, in iodine, phosphorous, selenium and zinc.

“Selenium was the big one. It is frightfully important, if an animal is low in selenium it inhibits their ability to take in and absorb other minerals.

“It was obvious that the same problems were manifesting themselves on all the farms.”

The next step was to do something to tackle the mineral deficits in their animals. They presented their research to Inform Nutrition in Cork, who took on the task of creating a supplement to counter the deficits found in the Burren cattle.

“Selenium was the big issue for us. It is very important for the immune system of the cow but equally as important for the immune system of the calf inside her,” says Liam Lacey of Inform.

“We used a highly protected form of selenium. Other elements, like iron, are competitors to selenium, so we came up with a mix that makes the selenium more available to the animal.

“This was a unique case for us, the winterage in the Burren is different from other areas because of the amount of antagonistic elements, which prevent the absorption of things like selenium. We had to come up with a bespoke solution.

“The lads [in Burren IFA] had a lot of the work done. We just went back and did a grass survey to double-check their work.”

The finished supplement is now available in outlets in Ennis and Kilfenora and the Burren IFA intends to redo the blood tests on healthy animals this spring to see what effect it has had on them.

“I’ve been using it for the past few weeks and I have discovered that it is very palatable for the cattle,” says Mr Davoren.

“It’s a bit too early to tell how it is going. We understand that it will take maybe eight to 10 weeks before their bloods will be up. The real proof for us will be when the cows calf, their calves are born healthy and the cows go back in calf.

“Then hopefully other diseases on the farm, such as TB, will be reduced. A good immune system is very important for an animal to keep out all diseases, including TB.

“We don’t know for certain how the animals are picking up the TB or what wild animals are interfacing with them. But what we do know is that when it gets into a herd, it can spread from animal to animal very quickly. So the stronger the animals’ immune system is, the less the animals will pick up the TB, or any other disease. It’s like day follows night.

“We are hopeful. We know we are feeding the animals the minerals that they need. There are no guarantees, but we are going about it as scientifically as we can.

“Every farmer must make their own decision for their own cattle. Like any mineral system, it’s not cheap. But it’s the same [cost] as the other mineral systems and at least the farmers of the Burren can know that this was designed with their specific condition in mind.”