Summer return to normality (From Western Telegraph)

Summer return to normality

The ghost of last years foot and mouth disease crisis is fast being banished from Pembrokeshire in a summer marked by buoyant cattle prices and a return to normality on the agricultural show circuit.

Demand for heifer calves and store cattle is pushing up prices, with buyers in search of replacements travelling from across the Welsh border to Carmarthen Livestock Mart.

Auctioneers and mart operators, Bob Jones-Prytherch and Co, said a shortage of replacements was boosting the price.

There is a roaring trade in cattle and calves, said Carrie Jones, a clerk at Carmarthen Mart. So many were taken out of the system during the foot and mouth disease outbreak and people are now trying to build up numbers again.

And despite the downturn in the dairy sector, the dairy cattle price is also holding up. At Carmarthen last week, freshly calved heifers were being traded for up to £850 while the average dairy cow price was £600.

But the 21-day standstill rule is creating major headaches for farmers in this region, particularly those with a mix of enterprises It is affecting what I call the everyday farmer, the farmer who keeps a bit of everything, said Carrie Jones. The bigger enterprises with more than one unit are okay, but for farmers with just one unit it is a big problem. If he buys a calf and then needs to sell some breeding sheep the following week he cant because of the movement restrictions.

This rule will also put some exhibitors off from taking livestock to the local shows.

But the Pembrokeshire County Show, which was last week granted its licence to run the event, is reporting better than expected entries in the livestock competitions.

Show director Barry Vaughan admits numbers are low - by 30% in the cattle section - and sheep entries have halved.

But, he concedes: We are lucky to get any exhibitors after all that has happened. The industry has been hit for six and the whole demographics of agriculture has changed. But people are still supporting the show by bring their animals along.

The only competitions which have failed to attract entries are the Longhorns and Guernseys.

Although near normality will return to the show, the spectre of foot-and-mouth will be evident.

The public will continue to have access to the cattle shed but disinfectant mats will be in place.

And livestock will have to be isolated for 21 days before and after the show because of the perceived risk of cross-contamination.

Mr Vaughan reports strong support from industries allied to agriculture among the trade stand bookings.

Many businesses missed the show last year - it concentrated their minds on how important their marketing strategy is to them, he said.

But one notable absentee will be livestock feed merchant, J.Bibby Agriculture Ltd, which, said Mr Vaughan, had made a commercial decision to pull out of shows nationwide.