Farmers launch fund appeal after bTB misery
AFARMING family has been left ‘on the brink’ after going through the worst weekend of their lives when a fifth of their herd was taken away and shot after testing positive to bovine TB.
Fred and Debbie Harvey and their son Jack were left heartbroken and facing financial collapse when a routine test turned into a nightmare which saw 25 of their dairy cows go to slaughter including three cows which had been about to give birth. The unborn calves also had to be slaughtered.
“To get one or two cows test positive to bovine TB is just a fact of life if you’re a dairy farmer,” said Fred, who has been working at Ryan Park Farm in Lanivet since he was 16. “We never had such a bad test reading before in the years I have been a farmer. To get one here and there you accept it, but to lose 20% of your herd overnight is tough.”
Lanivet is not part of the two badger vaccination programme zones in Cornwall which include west Penwith and the area around Roche.
Debbie and Fred said the idea had always been to grow the herd to 150 animals and invest in new facilities so they could pass the farm, which Fred took over from his dad, on to Jack.
Fred, aged 52, said seeing 25 cows go to slaughter had been heart-wrenching and demoralising. “It’s going to be hard for the next four months,” he said. “Especially in term of cash flow because we can’t even start replacing our cows for at least 60 days after our cows have gone. Then we have to have more TB tests done. It will be months before we can start producing as much milk as we did.”
Fred said government compensations for the lost animals won’t cover for the loss of income or the investment. Being 25 cows short means the Harveys will lose 700 to 800 litres a day at 28 pence a litre. It takes about two years to rear a cow and replacing them costs about £1,800 each. Fred said the farm will be about £6,000 a month short in income but their investment will still need to be paid for and the cows need to be fed and looked after.
To avoid going under and packing up for good, Debbie launched a fundraising appeal on the GoFundMe website. She said that a few days in and complete strangers had already shown incredible generosity.
On the page Debbie wrote: “Jack’s dream is to carry on the family farm. It’s always been his goal and passion to make the family business grow. So with this in mind we decided to borrow a large amount of money so we could invest in the best shed for the cows and to give them the best environment to live in as the old facility was not suitable for the current high welfare standards that are expected.
“Then on Friday January 8 we had 25 cows that tested positive to this strain of TB meaning a fifth of our herd had to be shot. The test isn’t even 100% accurate and you can’t appeal.
“Hopefully we will find a solution, but if we can’t find the income I fear we might have to sell our family farm and home. I have been here for 23 years since we got married and Fred and Jack have lived here all their life but because of one quick TB test we could lose it all.
“When I see my husband and son work seven days a week in all weather for not a lot of money and then we get hit with the worst news ever in our lifetime, breaks my heart.”
She said that any money raised will be used to see the farm get through the next 60 days and to be able to invest in buying more cows and keep the family farm. To help, visit https://www. gofundme.com/f/Urgent-Appeal-insaving-a-Cornish-Farm