Welcome to the View From The Tractor Seat

H1N1 influenza A is not as easy to say or remember as Swine Flu but in last month the World Health Organisation realised that it was proving rather confusing for the general public. In some countries pork sales have slumped and in Egypt the government has decided to slaughter the entire pig herd as a precaution.  However the facts are that this new strain of flu originating in Mexico has nothing to do with pigs – it can infect pigs hence the name swine flu, and so far there has only been one report of this, in a Canadian pig herd, and this rare case was due to a worker returning from Mexico.  As for food safety, remember that once meat is cooked properly there is no chance of a virus surviving so I should not worry about a threat to the full English breakfast.

At last, in May, we were getting some rain. The dry spell was excellent for catching up after the disastrously wet 2008.  The only problem being baked ploughing – the soil drying out so quickly between ploughing and cultivating that more diesel was used to bash the seedbed into shape. A fine tilth is needed in the spring so that the seeds are always in contact with soil and moisture.  If the seedbed is slightly too knobbly and April showers do not arrive, then germination can be uneven and the field looks patchy, as this year has seen.  Also the clod is a slug’s best friend!

The Bovine Tuberculosis debate still rumbles on rather like MPs expenses.  Something will only be done when it really gets out of hand. Latest figures from DEFRA show a significant increase in species other than cattle recorded with the TB bacterium.  A single deer was found to be carrying the disease in 2007 and 34 deer were recorded in 2008. Goats accounted for 33 cases compared with just two in 2007 and the number of diseased pigs found doubled from five in 2007 to ten animals in 2008.  Cats, dogs, alpacas, llamas and sheep also showed increasing levels of infection.  DEFRA claim that much of the increase can be attributed to better awareness but what about all the cases that do not get reported?  Be aware that there is a remote risk of any animal or person picking up the TB bacteria if they walk over pasture shared with an infected badger.  Other research appears to show that cattle share grassland more often with badgers than previously thought and thus have a higher chance of ingesting the bacterium.

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel.  At last the Government is waking up to the issues posed by climate change and food security. The food and farming minister from DEFRA, Jane Kennedy, spoke recently about the need to identify sustainable ways to produce, distribute and enjoy what we eat.  I rather suspect that this will tie farmers up in further red tape and still enable more supermarkets to make profits of over £3 billion a year.

Richard Bedhall (June 2009)