[caption id="attachment_3524" align="aligncenter" width="450"] ABNORMALITIES: A lamb affected by arthrogryposis - persistent flexion of the joints - which is one of the congenital abnormalities associated with SBV infection.[/caption]

THE newly-elected chairman of the FUW's animal health committee has urged Welsh farmers to be vigilant following confirmation by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) of an outbreak of the Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) in the UK for the first time. 

Catherine Nakielny said: "At the inaugural meeting of the new committee on January 20 delegates had an update on this concerning disease from chief veterinary officer for Wales Professor Christianne Glossop. 

"I would reiterate her warning that all farmers in Wales need to be on the lookout for any unusually high incidences of abortion or congenital abnormalities - deformed lambs, swollen heads, weak lambs etc. They should report anything unusual to their veterinarian," Dr Nakielny added. 

On January 23 AHVLA revealed they had finished the initial analysis of samples received as a result of its enhanced surveillance for this new disease. 

"We have identified the Schmallenberg Virus in some of these samples and as we continue surveillance we may find further cases," an AHVLA spokesman warned. 

The samples came from the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex which are in the area identified as potentially being at risk from infected midges blown across the Channel from the affected areas and AHVLA suspect this is the most likely cause of transmission. 

"Since August 2011, both the Netherlands and Germany have reported outbreaks of a disease in cattle with clinical signs including fever, reduced milk yield, inappetence, loss of body condition and, principally in Dutch herds, diarrhea," the spokesman said. 

"Herds experienced outbreaks of disease lasting two to three weeks, with individual affected animals recovering over several days. More recently (November 2011 onwards) there have been reports of miscarriages and stillbirths associated with congenital (present at birth) abnormalities affecting mainly sheep but also cattle and goats. 

"Tests carried out on cases in Germany and the Netherlands have identified a novel virus that has tentatively been named Schmallenberg virus (SBV). This virus appears to belong to a group of viruses that are spread by insect vectors, principally midges and mosquitoes, although a vector that may be responsible for transmission of SBV has not been identified yet. 

"According to an initial risk assessment carried out by public health authorities in the Netherlands and a follow-up risk assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, although there are still some uncertainties, the risk to human health from SBV is likely to be very low. 

"Nevertheless, farmers and veterinary surgeons are advised to take sensible hygiene precautions when working with livestock." 

Further information, including an AHVLA briefing note on the current situation, can be found on the international disease monitoring page on the Defra website. Contact your local AHVLA Regional Laboratory or SAC Disease Surveillance Centre if you require further guidance or information.

The Meirionnydd branch of the Farmers' Union of Wales holds its annual general meeting on Friday evening January 27 and an appeal was made today for a strong representation of members from all parts of the county for this special event which will consider the future of the farming industry.

It will be held at the Royal Ship Hotel, Dolgellau, starting at 7.30pm, and the two speakers will be deputy minister for agricultural, food, fisheries and European Programmes Alun Davies AM and former FUW vice president Tom Jones, Plas Coch, Dolanog, near Welshpool, who currently represents Wales on the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.

The meeting will be an ideal opportunity to consider the future of the industry in the short and medium term and, undoubtedly, there will be special emphasis on the Common Agricultural Policy review and the recent document on the way forward for Wales.

The meeting will also include a presentation from the county executive officer Huw Jones on the union's activities during 2011.

Further details about the event can be obtained by contacting the FUW County Office on 01341 422298 or by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[caption id="attachment_3519" align="aligncenter" width="450"] from left Elwyn Jones, Catherine Nakielny, Christianne Glossop and FUW senior policy officer Hazel Wright[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales Carmarthenshire county vice chairman Catherine Nakielny was today elected chairman of the union’s new animal health and welfare committee.

Miss Nakielny, 34, of Blaennant, Talley, near Llandeilo, has previously worked as an independent sheep consultant for two-and-a-half years and also helps run the 350-acre family upland sheep farm.

She is a co-opted member of the FUW’s livestock, wool and marts committee and the union’s parliamentary and land use committee. She is also involved with the Welsh region of the National Sheep Association and has just recently returned from a three-week study tour of research organisations and farms in New Zealand as part of her Nuffield Scholarship.

Elwyn Jones, 48, the Meirionnydd delegate for the animal health and welfare committee, was elected the committee’s vice chairman. Together with his wife Megan, a teaching assistant, he runs a flock of 900 Lleyn ewes on his 700-acre farm at Dinas Mawddwy, near Machynlleth. He took over the family business in 1998 and has since developed four cottages into holiday accommodation.

After the committee’s inaugural meeting at the union’s headquarters in Aberystwyth, Miss Nakielny said: “It is a great honour for me to be elected to chair this important committee.

“By establishing the animal health and welfare committee we are now able to voice our concern and discuss future plans of action with the Welsh Government.

“It was great to have the chief veterinary officer for Wales, Christianne Glossop, here with us today and to speak to her about the concerns the union has regarding sheep scab, the eradication of bovine tuberculosis and other animal welfare and health issues.

“I look forward to the great work that this committee can do for the union and its members in the future and hope that we will continue working closely with the Welsh Government on animal health and welfare issue,” she added.

The 2012 annual dinner of the Farmers' Union of Wales' Caernarfonshire county branch will be held at Meifod Country Restaurant, Bontnewydd, near Caernarfon, on Friday January 20.

Guest speakers will be FUW national president Emyr Jones and his deputy Glyn Roberts. Entertainment after the meal will be provided by Hogia ‘Sbyty who include FUW area officer Dafydd Jones.

Tickets at £25 each are available from the county branch office at Llys Amaeth, 2 Stryd y Castell, Caernarfon, tel: 01286 672541.

The Farmers' Union of Wales' Caernarfonshire county branch has organised an open meeting to discuss the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and the current consultation on the future scanning of sheep for the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.

The meeting will be held at Capel Curig Community Centre on Wednesday January 18, starting at 7.30pm.

Dr Nick Fenwick, the FUW’s director of agricultural policy, will be present to outline the latest information on the future of CAP payments and Hefin Davies, from the Food Standards Agency, will explain the details of the Chernobyl consultation document.

Welsh Government plans to sell Pwllpeiran research farm in Ceredigion as separate lots from next autumn was described as a major blow for the Welsh farming industry by Farmers’ Union of Wales president Emyr Jones today.

“For the best part of a century, Pwllpeiran has played an important role in the development of agriculture in Wales and in terms of global agriculture,” said Mr Jones.

"The pioneering work of the former Welsh Plant Breeding Station's founder George Stapleton and others is still recognised internationally as being intrinsically linked with Pwllpeiran.

“We have today written to agriculture deputy minister Alun Davies explaining that a central aim of the work at the farm was to significantly improve the viability of farming in the uplands, thereby ensuring continued agricultural productivity in disadvantaged areas while also stemming rural depopulation.

“There is no doubt whatsoever that these objectives were met and that thousands of farming families such as my own owe our very existence to that work,” said Mr Jones, whose upland beef and sheep farm at Bala won the British Grassland Society's top UK grassland award in 2008.

Against a background of rising global populations and diminishing natural resources, it is essential research is undertaken which will allow farmers to produce more food while having less impact on our environment, the union stressed in its letter to the minister.

“The aspirations of Stapleton and others are more pertinent today than they have ever been and it is particularly ironic that news of the sale of Pwllpeiran came during the same week that saw discussions at the Oxford Farming Conference focussing on the importance of stepping up agricultural research and development,” said Mr Jones.

“Therefore, the decision to sell our only significant upland research land, rather than ensuring its continued use for important and ground-breaking work, represents a backwards step for agriculture in Wales.

"I would urge the Welsh Government to consider all possible options which would allow its continued use for research,” added Mr Jones.

[caption id="attachment_3507" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Emyr Jones on his farm[/caption]