Ask a farmer how to care for animals
THERE have been criticisms of Environment Secretary George Eustice’s speech at the Oxford Farming Conference and its focus on the landscape, rewilding and the environment (Mail). But there has been little coverage of his support for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which will improve the way in which we farm. I am a farmer — semi-retired, but we never stop, just slow down! Throughout my 50-year working lifetime, I’ve been involved in cattle farming: from dairying to beef fattening and finally a small herd of pedigree South Devon suckler cattle. I recently retired from leading the Government’s Animal Health and Welfare Board for England. It was in that role that Mr Eustice asked me to look at livestock farming in England and find a new way for the Government to support the delivery of the high standards of which we are so proud. What followed wasn’t the usual way of making policy, with a Whitehall solution, written up, consulted on and then delivered in the way that the Government wanted. Similar to Kate Bingham’s approach to the vaccination drive, we went out and challenged the many groups representing my industry to tell us what were the issues, their suggested solutions and how the Government could help in a tangible way. Livestock farming is made up of a small number producing the bulk of our meat and a huge number of smaller, part-time or hobbyist farmers and those with large arable farms and a few livestock. Within that mix we have people who are world-leading, many working hard to achieve high standards and a small minority who have problems. Recent initiatives have been top down, so the better farmers have grabbed what’s on offer and smaller ones hardly got a look in. Yet the problems, such as endemic diseases, are universal. A programme that will identify and help control disease will benefit animal health, the environment and farmers. Four years on, that approach will start this spring. As I look around my farming friends and neighbours, I see a lot of people who are working long hours to look after livestock. Many have equipment and buildings that are more than 50 years old, when we last supported the industry to help itself before the EU. Think what we will achieve by working together. The future for livestock farmers isn’t about competing with cheap imports, it’s about finding better ways of working, taking everyone with us on a journey of self-help and improvement.
MICHAEL SEALS, Sutton on the Hill, Derbys.