A MONTH ago it really looked as though there were signs that the epidemic was burning itself out and there was even the odd day when no new cases were confirmed.

Now, in the first week of June, we can only wait and watch anxiously as the tentacles of the disease appear to relentlessly advance through Yorkshire. The Settle cluster was bad enough but then it spilled down the Aire and Ribble valleys to Skipton and Clitheroe.

On Monday, we got confirmation of a case at Kirby Malzeard, just north of Ripon, which means that it has either travelled south from the earlier Leyburn outbreak or jumped 20 miles from Skipton.

MAFF believes that the Ripon case has been brought quite innocently and legally through a movement of stock for summer grazing under licence.

Now, all of a sudden, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight and, despite strong denials, there are still rumours rumbling around of worse to come. One hears from a haulage man that 30 wagons have been put on standby for after this weekend to go into Derbyshire and that all the hotels in Buxton have been pre-booked.

Nearer to home, I hear of more hotel reservations for vets and slaughter men's contracts being extended to the end of the year.

Certainly, information has been difficult to winkle out, apart from the official face of the MAFF website, and there has been the nagging suspicion that something has been kept from us.

Many fear the real prospect of a new mass cull after the weekend and we can only tremble a little and wait.

At the time of writing, I am very sorry to report that the approval of collection centres in Yorkshire has not materialised.

As far as Malton is concerned, at the site inspection Charlie Breese got the impression that all was well, but subsequently has been told that MAFF does not consider the premises to be secure enough from the public; and the proximity of the council roadway system is a potential hazard.

If this is so, it is desperately sad and I would ask all those interested in getting Ryedale on the move to write to MAFF at Leeds with your views.

There are a lot of farmers with small numbers of cattle who could benefit from taking them to Malton, rather than a 60-mile journey across Yorkshire.

The York application apparently is acceptable to all the authorities, but merely awaits the formal signature of the MAFF Veterinary Service. We have been ringing their offices every day for the past eight days. When we do get through to a vet, they are usually extremely pleasant, and even helpful, but to date we have no written approval upon which to proceed.

Contrast this with Scotland, where collection centres have been up and running for several weeks. They have even moved on to using Thainstone market at Aberdeen for the collection of small batches of store cattle, which has made a huge difference to livestock farmers in the area.

If York is the only collection centre eventually approved, then these facilities will be offered to the Malton auctioneers to help relieve their Ryedale customers.

At last, the long-awaited confirmation of sale has come from Uniq headquarters and the Malton Bacon Factory is officially for sale.

It is sad, but true, that the prospect of a British buyer, with British employment and producer interests at heart, is remote.

Meat has become an unpleasant, unpopular and unprofitable sector of industry in which ranks of publicly-paid officials watch over the remaining workers.

No self-respecting firm wants to operate in this sort of atmosphere, and it is therefore more likely that the Malton Bacon Factory will be purchased by an overseas company which either does not know the full miserable facts or is prepared to take a chance, knowing that it can walk away with relative impunity at any time.

It is a desperately sad time for Malton town, and we can only again stand anxiously on the sidelines, not really in control of our own destiny.

I am afraid I am still critical of the way the firm has managed its affairs, and particularly over the betrayal of British pig producers in favour of re-labelled foreign imports.

The Livestock Auctioneers Association has sent its response back to MAFF over the proposed 20-day standstill period following movements of sheep and cattle.

Our basic reply is to firmly reject in entirety the detail and principles associated with the Government's proposals, on the grounds that they will dangerously damage the whole of the livestock industry and will not achieve their objective to control the spread of disease.

To the lay reader, may I repeat the Government's basic proposal, which is to stop any stock moving off a farm for a 20-day period following an inward movement onto the farm.

The proposals are fatally flawed because they take no account of modern farming practice.

- Inevitably, contiguous holdings will have cattle and sheep which are potential sources of infection, but movement on those contiguous holdings will not be affected.

- Family farms are no longer self-contained units, and the work force now moves around, contracting in specialist areas.

- Every day, collection and delivery vehicles for various commodities travel from farm to farm and it would be impossible to stop this activity.

I would also add, on a personal note, that the imposition of the 20-day standstill period would probably herald the death knell of livestock markets in the country which could not survive on the reduced throughput which would follow.

I urge all farmers and hauliers to write to their MP and MAFF expressing their views and hopefully support the auctioneers in trying to stop the 20-day movement ban.

Trade has kept pretty steady over the past week, with lamb prices hardening in response to smaller numbers on the market. This may be due to pressure of other work, such as spraying and silage, but nevertheless prices have come back to around 220-230p/kilo for new season lamb.

Even ewe prices have lifted to around 90-100p/kilo in some cases.

Cattle numbers are getting more scarce and, although some abattoirs have tried to bring back the price, competition has occasionally moved them back up again.

'R' grade cattle are running from 162-172p/kilo, with a premium of around 5p for a 'U' grade.

The breaking-up carcasses are running broadly from 150-160p for 'O+' and down to 140p for a 'P'.

Pigs, like the other two species, are not too plentiful, with a comparable increase in demand.

All bacon pigs are now making from 95-103p/kilo with the better, smaller pigs going up to 110p/kilo.

Help us to help you and ring our help lines at Malton on (01653) 697820/692151 and York on (01904) 489731.

Updated: 09:27 Thursday, June 07, 2001