Sunday 1^st March 2008

Tuberculosis, or TB as it is known, is one of those human diseases which, in Britain, is no longer a major killer. Inoculation programmes and improved medical science has meant that the threat of contracting it here is very low.

However, back in 1935 TB was a major public health problem with a small proportion of cases being caused by infection from drinking milk from cattle with the bovine version of the disease. This was because, at the time, many dairy herds were kept close to cities in order to provide daily supplies of milk, which was unpasteurised and also hygiene standards in handling and transporting fresh milk left a lot to be desired.

As a result, in 1935 they started testing for TB in cattle and any animals found to be carrying the disease were slaughtered. By 1981 the incidence of TB in cattle had fallen to an extremely low level. Pasteurisation of milk, improved hygiene and human vaccination programmes have also meant that, to this day, risks of humans catching bovine TB from milk in the UK have been eliminated (you are in more danger of catching the disease from a trip to a third world country).

But in 2007 there were 4,000 new outbreaks of the disease in cattle which resulted in the slaughter of over 28,000 cattle. So what is going on?

It was realised back in the 1990’s that the incidence of cattle testing positive for TB was increasing, so the Government set up a committee to conduct a 10 year study which we were told would give us conclusive proof as to how TB was being transmitted and guidance to a solution to the problem. At the time it was thought that the main cause was from cattle moving from one farm to another, spreading infection. This didn’t explain, though, how those farms who never bought in any cattle would suddenly discover the disease, and the vast majority of farmers felt that the problem lay with badgers carrying the disease.

A few weeks ago the Royal Society published results which said that 75% of cases of TB in cattle were caused by infection from local Badger populations. It is clear now that something needs to be done, and urgently, to tackle the problem. Not only are there thousands of cattle being unnecessarily slaughtered each week as a result of this disease there are also thousands of Badgers suffering and dying from TB.

It is a difficult problem for the Government to tackle as they are wary of the fact that culling infected badgers to control the spread of TB may not go down well with the voting public and the science surrounding the issue is complex. But if culling were done under licensed, well managed and humane conditions then surely the public would be supportive of a scheme which would, in the long run, improve the health of the badger population as well as bringing this horrible disease back under control.

As MP’s called last week for a decision to be made on tackling TB it can only be hoped that the Government will bite the bullet and make a decision about the way forward sooner rather than later, or the suffering of wildlife, mass slaughter of cattle, damage to business and ruining of peoples livelihoods will only continue to escalate.

Sunday 9^th March 2008

One thing which never ceases to amaze me is the extent of a child’s imagination. Give them the small seed of an idea and before you know it they have developed and expanded it into something you would never have come up with yourself.

At the beginning of the month Simon took our two boys to the Junior Ranger Club at Beacon Country Park where they were set to learn about making a wildlife garden. During the afternoon they were taught how to build a ‘house’ for toads and what type of habitats they like to live in.

This has obviously stuck in their minds because on Saturday they set off out into the garden to construct what has turned out to be more of a toad palace complete with sunken pool (I knew there would be a use for the old washing up bowl which was lurking in the shed). It even has its own sign at the entrance announcing that it is called Toad Hall. All we need now are a few toads to come along and inhabit it and they will be over the moon.

On Wednesday I also saw how ideas can develop into large schemes when I went for a tour of some new tourism developments around the Trough of Bowland area. For the last couple of years I have sat on a Grant Panel for the Lancashire Rural Tourism Initiative. In that time we have examined and assessed a wide variety of applications for funding for things ranging from fishing lodges to information centres covering all parts of rural Lancashire. As the project is now coming to an end a day trip was arranged so that those involved could visit a few of the completed projects.

It was a real eye opener to see projects which we had only read about on paper, actually up and running and the effects they have had not only on the businesses involved, but in the wider area. 

Perhaps the most interesting project was one which involved a number of businesses, including tourist attractions and accommodation, working together to purchase an all terrain mobility scooter. This can be booked by visitors wishing to go to an attraction or those coming to stay on holiday and enables them to get out into the countryside and explore tracks and paths or visit gardens which they would normally be unable to access due to difficulties walking. With all those involved telling us how popular it is with disabled visitors and how it well it has worked with the businesses co-ordinating its use between them, you can see how sometimes, small ideas and a bit of partnership working can go a long way.

 Sunday 16^th March 2008

Our potatoes have gone ‘green’ – not in the sense of them turning green because they have been exposed to daylight (in which case they are poisonous and should not be eaten) but in that they are now contributing towards reducing CO2 emissions.

Even though we harvest our potatoes in October we store them through the winter and this week we sent a couple of lorry loads down to Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, where they will be processed into chips. Over the last year this factory has undergone a bit of an energy transformation, to turn their processing operation into a more energy efficient system.

 £14.5 million has been invested in three wind turbines and a methane producing lagoon. Being situated on the flat Cambridgeshire Fenland, which is very similar to the Lancashire plains, especially in the fact that it is often a rather windy place, the turbines are capable of producing 100% of the factories electrical requirements. However, as wind speeds vary, meaning that you do not get the optimal amount of power all the time, they have installed a methane producing lagoon.

This takes waste water from the factory, which contains particles of potato starch which has come from washing the spuds. The water is stored in the lagoon for 27 days to allow the particles to settle and give off methane, which is then pumped to a generator where it is converted into electricity. The clean water is then returned to the river.

It is good to see that the companies we supply our produce to are ‘greening up’ the way they operate. However, as you may have realised, transporting our potatoes to Cambridgeshire by lorry is by no means environmentally friendly, so that is perhaps an area they need to look at next. Until then, we have reduced the number of potatoes we grow for them and are instead growing more for local markets instead.

But even though there’s still a long way to go before we get to eat a really ‘green’ chip, there are moves to make the potato seed we use to grow potatoes more environmentally friendly. The seed (which is basically a small potato) is produced up in the North of Scotland, near Elgin, and they have started to transport it by rail, saving 40,000 road miles. Who knows, perhaps rail transport will come back into its own and in a few years we will be loading the spuds we grow onto a train rather than onto a lorry. It’s just a shame the Cheshire Lines railway is no longer in operation, it being on our doorstep!!

Sunday 23^rd March 2008

Waking up on Easter Sunday I opened the curtains to be greeted by a very festive sight. There, hopping in and out of the daffodils, was a young rabbit, full of the joys of spring, which was pretty amazing considering how cold and wintery it has been.

I watched for about five minutes as it played a game of chase with our resident Robin. Now I have heard that Robins can be very territorial and quite aggressive, but I thought this only extended to other birds coming into their patch and that a rabbit would have been a bit too large to tackle. However the rabbit was having great fun dashing out from the shelter of the daffodils and past the hedge where the Robin was lying in wait. Just as it came level, the Robin flew out and dive-bombed it whilst the rabbit belted around the back of the hedge to hide in the daffodils once more.

This happened about half a dozen times, with the robin, completely undaunted by such a large opponent, getting more and more irate each time the rabbit ran past. It only ended when Simon came out of the house with the dogs on his way to let the chickens out. At this point the rabbit scampered off to the shelter of the wood pile at the back of the farm and the Robin retreated into the safety of the hedge. The dogs better watch their step or the Robin might be after them next! 

There was no Easter break though for Simon this year. The unpredictable weather has meant that spring work on the fields has to be done whenever there is enough of a dry patch to get out onto the fields. As we move into Spring and the crops are starting to grow, there’s been fertiliser to spread and fields of cereal crops to roll. Rolling involves driving up and down the field pulling a set of heavy metal rollers behind the tractor. These go over the crop and flatten it down, ensuring that the roots are firmly bedded into the soil. It’s a bit like putting a plant in the ground and then firming down the earth at its base with your feet, but on a much larger scale.

Rolling will help to prevent a number of problems later on in the season. If the roots are firmly bedded into the soil then they can access more nutrients and are better able to support the growing plant, making it less likely that the plant will fall over as it grows and matures. So whilst the rest of us were sitting in front of the fire, sheltering from the cold and eating chocolate, Simon and many other farmers were out ensuring that there are good, healthy crops to harvest in the summer.