Diseased Cows Highlights Valuation Cuts

As a suspected bid to deliberately infect a cattle herd in Co Armagh with brucellosis was being probed at the weekend, cuts proposed by Nl's Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD) have been attracting comment.

With the Stormont budget being very much in the news, DARD's intention to slash costs by introducing a 'Tabular Valuation' system for all cattle destined for compulsory slaughter in NI has been criticised.

DARD claims this would save £500,000 with £400,000 also recouped once DARD valuers are made redundant.

Commenting, John Fleming, British Blue Cattle Society Secretary, said that the cattle industry is continually striving to increase efficiency and to increase the quality of carcasses entering the meat chain.

"Clearly the key to raising quality is to keep using top quality sires of the highest genetic merit.

"Experience in England, especially in areas of high bovine TB risk, is that breeders now shy away from buying top quality animals," he said.

"This is simply due to the fear of being heavily financially penalised by this new insensitive and under priced Tabular Valuation system if their stock are ever culled as TB 'reactors'.

"A result of ill thought out cuts that have had a measurable effect on the quality of sires used and a knock on impact on subsequent suckler calf growth rates and carcase quality," he complained, noting that the introduction of a similar simplistic system of valuation does not bode well for the highly efficient Northern Ireland livestock sector.

"Why risk repeating mainland mistakes when DARD has in place a first class, well respected and cost effective system of cattle valuation based on skilled and well qualified Department valuers.

"A system that values animals fairly for both the Department and the breeder.

"It is unacceptable that such respected procedures are to be put aside by ill thought out cost cutting. Why fix a system if it is not broken," he asked.

A clearly frustrated John Fleming said: "Decision makers must remember that research shows that using a sire is in the top 25% of the breed for growth and carcass traits on just one suckler herd increases the value of output by over £6,000.

"Similar calculations in the dairy sector likewise show this is a penny wise, pound-foolish decision by DARD," he said.

"The introduction of Tabular Valuations will deter buyers from investing in top quality animals of high genetic merit.

"The very stock DARD are telling us will play a huge role on making Ulster agriculture more competitive beyond 2013," he concluded."

Meanwhile, the Ulster Farmers' Union and Minister for Agriculture Michelle Gildernew have each expressed their concern at an apparent attempt to deliberately infect a cattle herd in Co Armagh with brucellosis.

A calf's leg was found in silage being used to feed a group of heifers and DARD vets and the police have launched an investigation into the incident.

As brucellosis is seen as a potential biological weapon, the incident is being treated "very seriously" by the PSNI according to the Minister.

The carcass has been submitted to the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) laboratory for DNA testing. The cattle, which may have come into contact with the carcass, will also be tested for brucellosis.

DARD investigated a previous incident in Armagh at the end of 2009, when an infected foetus was deliberately placed in a field of cattle in an attempt to infect them.

UFU President John Thompson said he was "totally disgusted" by the news.

(BMcC)