The new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone requires all keepers to complete a self assessment of biosecurity measures on their premises (available for download at http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/ahw/disease/avianflu/?lang=en ).

The objective is to keep domestic flocks totally separate from wild birds by continuing to keep birds housed or using other measures, which may include permitting controlled access to outside areas, subject to the introduction of additional risk mitigation measures.

Keepers of poultry and other captive birds in the new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone must ensure:

They complete the Welsh Government Avian Influenza Prevention Zone Self Assessment Form.

They adopt one or more of the following:

(i) house their birds
(ii) keep totally separate from wild birds, by use of netting etc
(iii) allow controlled access to outside areas, subject to applying additional risk mitigation measures.

Wild birds cannot access bedding, feed and water intended for poultry and other captive birds.

Any person who comes into contact with poultry and other captive birds must take all reasonable precautions to avoid the transfer of contamination between premises, including cleansing and disinfection of equipment, vehicles and PPE and the changing of boots/footwear between houses/different areas of site.

Steps are taken to reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry or captive birds are kept to minimise contamination between premises. Robust records must be maintained of any movements in or out of the poultry or other captive birds area.

Vermin control programmes are implemented, including making the area and buildings where poultry or captive birds are kept inaccessible and unattractive to wild birds.

Housing and equipment is thoroughly cleansed and disinfected at the end of a production cycle.

The area where poultry or other captive birds are kept is regularly checked for signs of wild bird access and appropriate corrective action taken immediately.

Boot dips using approved disinfectants at the appropriate concentration, must be kept at all points where people must use it, such as, but not limited to,  farm entrances and before entering poultry housing or enclosures.

Domestic waterfowl (ducks and geese) are kept separately from, and cannot make contact with, other domestic species.

Regular health checks of the birds are completed and any changes in bird health are discussed with a private veterinary.  If a notifiable disease is suspected then this should be immediately reported to APHA.

The site is regularly inspected and kept clean, any spillages are immediately cleaned.

If you suspect any strain of avian flu you must tell your nearest Animal and Plant and Health Agency (APHA) office (in Wales, contact 0300 303 8268) immediately. Failure to do so is an offence.

Detail on how to register your poultry can be found here.

The announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs that a new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will be in place from midnight on the 28th of February until the 30th of April this year means that bird keepers in Wales could be faced with important decisions regarding how and when to house their flocks.

One issue of great concern to keepers is the potential loss of their free range status and the FUW therefore welcomes the decision to allow keepers to maintain their free-range status within the new all-Wales Prevention Zone, if certain additional risk mitigation measures are adhered to.  This allows the keeper to select the disease prevention programme best suited to their business needs.

We would remind keepers of poultry to remain vigilant for any signs of this significant disease.  Avian Influenza is a notifiable disease, and keepers should report any suspicion of disease to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. In addition, all poultry keepers, irrespective of the size of the flock, can pass their details to the Poultry Register in order to receive updates on the disease.

The current Prevention Zone requires all keepers of poultry and other captive birds to:

• keep their birds indoors
• or take all appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds, and to enhance biosecurity.

This follows a number of confirmed cases of avian flu - H5N8 strain - across the UK, including in a backyard flock of chickens and ducks near Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire.

How to spot AI
There are two types of AI – high pathogenic and low pathogenic. The one to look out for is H5N8 strain, which is high pathogenic.

High-pathogenic AI (HPAI)
HPAI is the more serious type. It is often fatal in birds. The main clinical signs are:

• Swollen head
• Blue discolouration of neck and throat
• Loss of appetite
• Respiratory distress such as gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, gurgling, rattling
• Diarrhoea
• Fewer eggs laid
• Increased mortality

Clinical signs can vary between species and some may show minimal clinical signs (ducks and geese).

More information on what this means for you can be found here

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has repeated its concerns about the negative impact planned business rates increases will have on the agricultural sector in Wales and on the wider rural economy of Wales.

As a result of re-valuations based on 2015 prices, many businesses in Wales will face a change in the rates they pay after April. This will impact on many farmers who have diversified in recent years, but what is becoming clearer is the potential knock-on effect this will have on farmers who sell their livestock at markets in Wales.

“We’ve heard reports from livestock markets that their rates are about to rise by nearly 100% and when you try and work out how they will pay that bill it is quite clear. The money will come from increased commission in the marts which will therefore hit all farmers,” said Brian Thomas, Deputy President of the FUW.

“We appreciate that the Welsh Government has made funding available, which will be distributed by local authorities, in addition to the Welsh Government's £10m transitional relief scheme and its Small Business Rates Relief Scheme worth £100m.

“However, there’s no way we can realistically expect somewhere like a livestock market to absorb such costs. They have no other clear source of income than commission payments, so this punitive tax will impact every farmer that sells stock through those markets,” Mr Thomas added.

The FUW will continue to fight to ensure that tax regimes do not hit rural Wales more widely than is strictly necessary.

The uniqueness of Welsh agriculture and the importance of involving the devolved administrations in planning the future of agriculture have today been reiterated by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), following a speech made by DEFRA’s Andrea Leadsom.

Whilst the FUW welcomed some of the points made by the Environment Secretary, such as the acknowledgement that the industry will need financial support after having made an exit from the European Union and tariff-free access to the European markets, it was disappointing to note the lack of recognition for devolved administrations and the crucial role they need to play in devising a UK wide framework for agriculture.

The Union has previously welcomed the recognition of the role devolved administrations should play in planning for our departure from the European Union, when Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her 12 point Brexit plan, and her recognition that Wales is different to the rest of the UK.

FUW Managing Director Alan Davies said: “Andrea Leadsom stated that she will be meeting with each of the Ministers from the devolved administrations in Edinburgh on Thursday, February 23, but we need those in Westminster to fully understand that the complex political principles at stake here, can only be resolved through cooperation and collaboration between all 4 nations of the United Kingdom. And more importantly, until those principles are resolved we cannot be clear as to who will have primacy of decision making in the long term.

“The Prime Minister has previously said that there will be no landgrab of powers from devolved nations and that means that the Welsh Government will be responsible for all agriculture policy, a position we welcome. But we also recognise the need to create and work within a UK Framework that enables and constrains the UK administrations in a way that creates a healthy yet stable home market in the UK.”

The FUW has since the referendum result last year stressed that the UK post-Brexit needs to put a UK agricultural framework in place which prevents unfair competition between devolved regions and secures and protects adequate long term funding for agriculture, while also respecting devolved powers over agriculture.

“We ask what sort of industry we want to be and what sort of country we want to be and the answer is really quite obvious - agriculture in the UK and in Wales has to be profitable and sustainable and the important role family farms play in making the wheels of the rural economy go round have to be recognised and we must recognise that Wales is not the same as England in terms of need, product and social importance of agriculture.

“The FUW is in agreement that we can have a prosperous future for the sector once we leave the EU and that there are plenty of opportunities to be explored but a lot of it depends on the willingness of our politicians in Westminster to recognise how different farming across the devolved nations is and that they have very different requirements,” added Alan Davies.

[caption id="attachment_7720" align="alignleft" width="185"] Steve Smith[/caption]

Well known in farming circles throughout Wales and the UK, Steve Smith, is a former Welsh Sheep Farmer of the Year and has won many accolades for his prize winning Penparc Texel flock.

He achieved an ambition in 2010 by winning the supreme pairs at the Welsh Winter Fair and is well versed in the challenges and opportunities being a first generation farmer can bring, but is realistic about the priorities that have to be made to achieve your dream.

Steve has built up his farming enterprise to approx 1200 acres, and the business is spread over two holdings in Montgomeryshire and Meirionnydd, where a fully stratified sheep system is in operation.

He recognising the great maternal instincts and longevity of the Welsh hill flock and its influence in building a sound genetic maternal base on which the finished lamb enterprise is based upon. The pedigree Pen Parc Longhorn Herd also runs alongside, and he focuses on marketing this to the high quality market.

The holdings are part of the the Welsh Government Glastir Suite of Agri Environment schemes and the aim of the family has always been to match sustainable land management with top quality breeding stock and these two founding principles have been behind the success of the business.

Steve has always had a great appreciation for nature and the need to have sustainability at its core. He said: “I have always respected nature and its environment before it became fashionable.”

In the late 90's the family further diversified into holiday cottages and more recently renewable energy.

For the last 9 years Steve has been the Montgomeryshire British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) representative and is now looking to become the Welsh Northern Region elected member, to represent the interests of Welsh farmers and further promote the work of Welsh farmers and the BWMB.

He has a global outlook and an understanding of how the markets work and what is needed to make a success of the industry, which is now more important than ever given the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

“Every asset on the farm and that includes wool will need to meet consumer demands as efficiently as possible. It is easy to forget why co-operatives were originally set up. They were set up at times of adversity to make the farming voice stronger, our forefathers were some of the greatest entrepreneurs of their time. The last few decades have seen farmers become more isolated through the need for efficiencies and increased mechanisation,” he said.

Going forward with global forces and free trading the time may come again when farmers have to strengthen their voice to be heard. The British Wool Board is effectively the largest producer co-operative in Britain, with over 40,000 registered sheep farmers and always has operated on a global market making it very well placed to go forward.

Steve is well aware that there are further efficiencies to be made, saying:  “I want to get more of the price paid for wool back to the producers because that has to be ultimate aim.

“The BWMB has recently appointed Joe Farrell to take over has the new CEO. Mr farrell is a former barrister with excellent management skills and  he recognises the need to support training programmes and provide value for money for our farmers. To some extent this could be done by reducing administration and marketing and promotion costs. However, this can only be achieved if every wool producer supports the BWMB. If we lose this, fragmentation in our industry does not serve any master well.”

“It is very important that everyone who produces wool understands how the process works and sees the amount of investment that goes into scouring plants in this country. Keeping the processing capacity in the UK is vital to ensuring there is a reasonably competitive base in our markets.

“The same could be said for the red meat and the dairy industries ‘added value’ must be core to our activities going forward. There are exciting times ahead and yes, I know the price of wool has slightly dipped at present but it’s a green product that fits into the expectations of customers in the present day,” said Steve.

The world is changing and farmers have an uncertain future in terms of the political arena, Steve recognises, saying: “Never before have so many demands been made upon our farmers. Retaining a critical mass of sheep numbers will be one of the next challenges as farm support evolves, but that does not mean we cannot plan for our future, new research and development.

“A pull on natural resources and reductions required in the use of fossil fuels means that consumers will have to look to longer term choices when they purchase. Wool is a prime example of that, with exciting new designers on board I am confident that the term ‘Green Growth’ will attract buyers for Welsh wool the UK can have a bright future.”

Speaking about why Steve Smith is worth supporting in his ambition to be elected as the Northern Region Member, FUW Montgomeryshire County Executive Officer Emyr Wyn Davies said: “Steve has all the enthusiasm and over all knows how the BWMB works, having been the Montgomeryshire representative for over 9 years. I would encourage anyone who has received a voting paper to support Steve in his endeavour to help further the work of the BWMB.”

[caption id="attachment_7713" align="alignleft" width="300"] Since 1997 the annual percentage of Welsh herds which have their official TB free status withdrawn has risen ten-fold.[/caption]

In case you missed it, FUW Head of Policy Dr Nick Fenwick recently wrote an article for the IWA on bovine TB:

In the late 1960s the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food was trying to solve a mystery: cattle testing and movement controls had successfully reduced cattle TB levels to a fraction of one percent, and led to the disease being eradicated from most of the UK; yet these controls seemed to be having no impact on disease levels in parts of the South West of England, where incidences were at least five times higher than the national rate.

Confirmation of what many had suspected came in 1971, when a dead badger was found to be severely infected with TB. The area where the badger had been found shared two characteristics; it had high levels of TB, and what were, by those days’ standards, high badger numbers.

The discovery led to a succession of national policies aimed at removing badgers in such areas – policies supported by eminent conservationists such as Peter Hardy MP, sponsor of the 1973 Badger Act – but from the mid-1980s these became less intensive, and in 1997 a moratorium was placed on culling which persists in Wales to this day.

Since 1971, badger protection legislation has led to an estimated ten-fold increase in badger numbers – to the extent that badger population densities across vast areas of Wales and the UK are now at the same level as those previously only seen in the pockets of South West of England where TB had persisted.

The impact of this increase on other wild animals is well documented, most notably in terms of the devastating impact on hedgehog numbers – badgers are, after all, our largest terrestrial carnivore.

And, not surprisingly, TB levels have returned to epidemic proportions across much of Wales, while tried and tested cattle controls which work in countries devoid of wildlife reservoirs have failed to control the disease.

Since 1997 the annual percentage of Welsh herds which have their official TB free status withdrawn has risen ten-fold, while the number of Welsh cattle culled annually to control the disease has gone from 613 in 1997 to 9,934 in the 12 months to October 2016. During the same period, the number of Welsh badgers culled due to TB was zero, despite the latest Welsh Government figures showing TB levels in badgers to be fourteen times higher than in cattle.

Between 2007 and 2011, the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition, with cross party support, decided to grasp the nettle by implementing a badger cull in north Pembrokeshire, but their plans were thwarted; first by the courts, which basically ruled the original legislation underpinning the cull had been improperly drafted, and then by the 2011-2016 Labour administration, which decided to vaccinate rather than cull badgers in the area – despite official advice that vaccination would be so ineffective that it would cost a net £3.5 million, while a cull would have led to reductions in herd incidences and cattle slaughtered which would more than cover costs.

This position was backed up by the Bovine Tuberculosis subgroup of the EU Task Force for Monitoring Animal Disease Eradication, who in 2012 criticised Wales’ change of direction, saying “There is no scientific evidence to demonstrate that badger vaccination will reduce the incidence of TB in cattle. However there is considerable evidence to support the removal of badgers in order to improve the TB status of both badgers and cattle.”

[caption id="attachment_7663" align="alignright" width="300"] The number of Welsh cattle culled annually to control the disease has gone from 613 in 1997 to 9,934 in the 12 months to October 2016.[/caption]

So it comes as little surprise that the latest official report on the badger vaccination programme in north Pembrokeshire, which cost £3.7 million, concludes that “Consistent trends in indicators of bTB incidence have not yet been seen…”

For Welsh farmers suffering the daily emotional and financial consequences of having their businesses locked down for months by movement restrictions, and seeing cattle taken or culled on farm, year-in, year-out, the latest Welsh Government proposal to escalate what are already the most restrictive cattle TB rules in the world have led to palpable anger - but not because of the rules per se.

In fact, while few agree with all of the proposals – which include splitting Wales into five regions, each with strict additional cattle controls – many understand the merits of what the Welsh Government is trying to achieve, but with one caveat: The failure to include solid proposals to proactively deal with the disease reservoir in badgers makes no sense.

Similar concerns were expressed during a recent Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee hearing, when Dr Paul Livingstone, who headed up New Zealand’s successful TB eradication programme, described badgers as ‘the elephant in the room’, claiming nothing was being done in Wales about a key disease reservoir.

The Welsh Government might argue that such claims are unfair – they have, after all, implemented an (albeit, to date unsuccessful) badger vaccination programme, and only recently Chief Veterinary Officer Christianne Glossop stated infected groups of badgers might be trapped and humanely killed where it can be objectively proven badgers are infected.

It is certainly true that both the Welsh Government and the farming industry acknowledge that badgers are a source of infection, and that something needs to be done about the matter; the battle is over what to do about it and when.

Farmers fear that personal views and political cowardice on the part of politicians will continue to slow down TB eradication, as every excuse is used to avoid action, while talk of culling badgers only when ‘it can be objectively proved’ is read as a delaying tactic, aimed at putting off moves to tackle probable causes of infection indefinitely.

Over the coming weeks Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths will consider whether to implement the Welsh Government’s proposals.

While Welsh Government statements that badgers may be culled when sufficient proof has been gathered hints at light at the end of the tunnel, failure to be robust and ensure such measures can be rolled out rapidly and on a large enough scale will delay eradication by decades, while prolonging the expense and torment for farming families.

The situation would be bad enough under normal circumstances, but with Brexit looming, competitors in other countries have one eye on our TB status, and how it might be used to their benefit – and our detriment – in trade negotiations. The clock is ticking.