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bluetongue’s winter warmer
Now here’s a thing. I had a fit of the giggles. Actually it was probably a touch of mini-hysteria; the uncontrolled, raucous, thigh-slapping, tears-pouring-down-face kind, coloured by total disbelief. Wishful thinking there – what I would hope to be total disbelief.
In this week’s New Scientist under the heading ‘Bluetongue’s Winter Warmer‘ we were told about the distinct possibility of bluetongue virus overwintering in the unborn calf cosseted and protected by the cosy bubble of bovine uterine warmth.
And as those hungry veracious biting midges reappear (the end of the non-vector period was the 15th March) these bonny babies would become a delicious fresh source of the bluetounge virus. Hey-presto! Yup, you have it in one.
Pirbright suggest there should be additional controls targeted at newborn animals. Now, me-wonders, what on earth have they in mind? No vaccine around yet. Could only be one other thing.
And if that’s not sinister enough – listen to this…the only bluetongue virus ever seen to cross the placenta of infected mothers to infect their foetuses was a laboratory-adapted strain used in experiments with sheep in the 70s.
Ring any bells? Shades of last summer’s FMD fiasco? Afterall the great and the good have been wondering how the BTV8 strain gained such an unshakable foothold in northern Europe.
Maybe they now have their answer.
What a busy, hectic time…
A gloriously large muddle of people, babies and animals centred in and around the kitchen. Yes, we do have more house than just a kitchen but it’s the kitchen that’s the heart and the room everyone tends to gravitate to. The orchestration of cooking and clearing in this ever moving, circulating throng requires the skill of a rugby winger speed-weaving up the field with the ball (this rugby analogy for all those following the world cup!). Read the rest of this entry »
A quick post to let you know that I have a large gathering of the clan happening from today and won’t, I shouldn’t think, have a moment of time to write. Read the rest of this entry »
Gordon Brown seems to be backing farmers.
“Their actions live out our shared understanding that our countryside is more than the space that surrounds – it is the oxygen for the towns and cities.”
“And in order to be the country we should be, Britain must protect and cherish, not just our cities, but our countryside too,” Mr Brown said.
I’m delighted. No, really, I am. But… Read the rest of this entry »
The FMD story grows alarmingly. There appears to be chaos and confusion once more. Misinformation, non-information and contradiction.
With DERFA’s website appallingly devoid of basic facts and figures it seems that even those worried farmers and smallholders in the protection and surveillance zone, desperate for hard news and exact locations, are being kept in the dark. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s odd how strangely divorced I feel from the news of the new FMD outbreak in Surrey and all the horror it entails.
I can’t really understand my own reaction. It surprises me. But I don’t think it’s just me. Even the national news is remarkably devoid of hype and those gruesome, unnecessary, pictures of dead or dying livestock. And when I speak about it with anyone involved in farming, there is a telling hesitation before the appropriate expressions and remarks. Read the rest of this entry »
I was going to tell you about how apparently cows could one day help to meet the rise in demand for alternative energy sources, according to Ohio State University researchers, who used microbe-rich fluid from a cow to generate electricity in a small fuel cell. There’s a rather macabre description of how it’s accomplished and I have a horrific and gruesome vision of lines of cows wired and plugged up complete with shunts and catheters supplying our power needs… Read the rest of this entry »
Well, this is it.
Not a week I’m looking forward to.
It’s bTB testing time…again.
I began gathering up the cattle yesterday, so they are on the home farm, and easily accessible to move into the yard on Tuesday.
I hate it. I worry. Read the rest of this entry »
These FMD scares scare me, that’s for sure. I feel myself becoming relaxed, complacent even, then I catch a little snippet on the news about another, and, oh no, another suspected case. Read the rest of this entry »
(click ‘read the rest of this entry’ for latest fmd news)
I made the decision on Monday evening…to cut (our forage) on Tuesday after the predicted early morning rain. Monday had seen another farm go down with FMD resulting in a further cattle cull. The original source of the outbreak was still under investigation. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday was my day for working in the shop in Exeter. Inevitably I talked with customers about foot and mouth. Read the rest of this entry »
Last night it rained – heavily.
This morning it rained – heavily.
Suddenly the sun came out; there was a breeze, blue, blue sky and cotton-wool clouds. It looked as if it had never rained at all… Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday was a bad day. I was a strumming bag of nerves.
My initial reaction to hearing that FMD was back in the country was like a vicious kick to the solar plexus bringing all the fears, horrors, controls and constraints of the 2001 outbreak flooding back. This, coupled with the extraordinarily difficult summer, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Read the rest of this entry »
We were out last night.
I’ve just turned the computer on (8am) and here was an email from a customer and friend
‘Dear Paula
The news last night can only have had one reaction throughout the country, “Oh no, not again!”
Our thoughts are with you and your lovely ‘boys and girls’, and we fervently wish your area and your farm are spared in the weeks to come.
We wish you the very best of luck.
With best wishes
David & Lizzie’ Read the rest of this entry »
