September 14, 2007

 

New FMD outbreak: Another blow to British livestock farmers

 

 

Already battered from high feed prices, British livestock farmers are again facing another tough battle over this week's new outburst of foot-and-mouth-disease.

 

Yorkshire pig farmer Richard Longthorp laments having these problems altogether make the situation very difficult to manage.

 

The European Union has suspended the re-entry of British meat, dairy and livestock products in the European market after the United Kingdom has confirmed an outbreak of FMD on a cattle farm in southern England on Wednesday (September 12). A ban on livestock movements was also imposed.

 

Britain had a huge outbreak of the disease in 2001 which led to the destruction of thousands of cattle as well as huge economic losses.

 

Everyone is hoping this outbreak will not be the same.

 

Thomas Binns, national chairman for livestock of Britain's National Farmers Union admits that "this bad news came at a very difficult time in the livestock calendar as cash flows are a big part of our concern".

 

The ban on movement of animals comes at a time when many upland and hill farmers in Wales and northern England are looking to make sales of sheep and cattle.

 

Longthorp said even without the movement ban, he was losing GBP15 (US$30.38) a head of pig sales following the rise in grain prices. Export restrictions would cost around an additional GBP6. A pig normally sells for about 75 pounds.

 

He noted that feed accounted for about 60 percent of his costs and prices had doubled in the last six months.

 

The non-increase in pork prices will have farmers lament on an "unmanageable risk to continue" but this time around, Longthorp said "they will just simply get out". 

 

Britain's pig numbers sharply fell over the last few years to around 454,000 as of June, compared with about 800,000 a decade earlier. Outbreaks of classical swine fever in 2000 and FMD in 2001 contributed to the decline.

 

Longthorp said though the pig industry won't disappear completely, it will shrink by at least another half unless retailers would willingly pay more for pork products.