The Farmers' Union of Wales has repeated its call for the establishment of an industry Task and Finish Group to examine both Informed Purchasing and the future of TB Cattle Compensation payments following the publication of the Minister for Rural Affairs' statement on the TB eradication programme earlier today.
Amongst the new TB plans outlined in the statement are policies which could see the use of lay testers for TB testing, the provision of mandatory TB information at point-of-sale and significant changes to the way in which TB compensation is paid.
Dr Hazel Wright, FUW Senior Policy Officer, said:
“The FUW is pleased that many of the concerns we highlighted in our 27 page response to the Refreshed TB Eradication Programme, have been heard by the Welsh Government. We have repeatedly and consistently called for industry to be involved in the future of both TB compensation and Informed Purchasing policy and we welcome the Minister’s statement that that there will be further discussion with industry on these important issues ”
However, the FUW was frustrated to note the assertion in the statement that the proposal for an industry-led group with levy ‘attracted the most support’ as a future TB compensation scheme.
“Given that many of the responses to the consultation derived from non-farming organisations and individuals, it is disappointing that the Minister did not make a distinction between the relative gravity of each of the responses. A single response from the FUW represents literally thousands of farmers and directly represents those who will be affected by any change to the payment regime and should not be viewed as a single response. The FUW would therefore query how many of those responding in favour of an industry levy would actually be responsible for paying such a levy."
In its response to the consultation the FUW made clear that any proposals to establish an industry levy group on TB compensation would also require the group to have a proper and meaningful role in future TB eradication policy.
“The consultation cited the establishment of an industry levy group akin to the New Zealand Animal Health Board (AHB) as a potential way forward. However, the New Zealand Board was also responsible for implementing the National Pest Management Programme which ensured that wildlife sources of TB infection were appropriately dealt with.
The FUW cannot support a future scheme which cherry-picks from those strategies present elsewhere in a manner which places the greatest burden, cost and responsibility upon cattle keepers who remain powerless to protect their businesses from other forms of disease spread.
“The current level of competition for culled stock does not even include the additional costs incurred such as lost revenue, loss of milk production, loss of breeding lines, delays to re-stocking and movement restrictions. These consequential losses suffered by a producer whose animals are compulsorily purchased can be significant and run into tens of thousands of pounds. It is therefore essential that future payment schemes pay appropriately for compulsorily slaughtered stock.”
Also included in the Minister’s statement was recognition of the need to further explore Informed Purchasing and its potential consequences and a recognition of the need for a joined-up approach with Defra to avoid cross-border trade issues.
“The FUW does not oppose the principle of risk-based trading, however we remain concerned about proposals which, if not properly considered, could be too crude to be useful or too technical to be usable. Discussions surrounding risk-based trading must therefore recognise the balance between the need for information, the burden of collating such information and the resultant detrimental effects on some herds."
In its response to the latest Refreshed TB Programme consultation the FUW stressed that a lack of a coordinated GB approach on this issue could lead to cattle being moved further distances to sales which provide the best advantage when selling higher risk stock.
“Any lack of Informed Purchasing at a GB level will undoubtedly lead to the demise of local markets as affected cattle keepers will choose to sell their stock across the border and we therefore welcome recognition by the Minister that Informed Purchasing requires a cross-border approach in order to create a level playing field.
By its very nature, Risk Based Trading devalues and discriminates against some stock and it is to be expected that this will drive prices down significantly for some cattle keepers. The FUW therefore welcomes the opportunity to work with the Welsh Government on the criteria for inclusion in such policies.
Risk classification systems can only work if all potential sources of bovine TB, including the wildlife vector, are dealt with. Mandatory information at point of sale can disadvantage cattle keepers who have adhered to all the regulations, have implemented good biosecurity and who have maintained good buying practise. Such keepers will fall foul of a system which does not protect them from TB, but penalises them once a breakdown occurs.
We will therefore be putting our proposals for the establishment of an industry group on these important policy issues to the Minister shortly. We look forward to further discussions, with a view to finding a workable and meaningful way forward that is in the best interests of both farmers and cattle” added Dr Wright.