IN glorious early morning spring sunshine, and after two days of dry weather, I am mightily relieved to report that the dreadful foot and mouth epidemic appears to be abating. My fervent hope is that officialdom manages the departure of the disease with more competence and sensitivity than it's demonstrated throughout the outbreak so far.

I have just finished sending off our response to the consultation paper to consider re-opening livestock markets as collection centres. This will be a large step for animal- kind and a return to normality that will enable the farmer with small numbers to avoid the long-distance haulage charges.

I am not in the least suggesting that hauliers have profited from the situation. They have, without any complaint, worked long hours to try and keep stock moving; but the sheer economics of taking two steers from Ryedale to Lancashire have been pretty crippling.

I believe collection centres will be approved within the next ten days and, to help farmers decide how to market their stock, here are some of the conditions that may apply:

It will only apply to stock destined for slaughter and NOT stores

You will still need a licence

Animals may be batched together for onward transmission in larger loads to the abattoirs.

All animals will have to be killed within a 24-hour period

No pigs at present

There are other issues to be decided, such as whether animals can be sorted and as to the staffing of the collection centre, but, whatever else, it will be good for the farming community to see life again in our markets.

I am afraid there will be many that won't re-open due to fragile finances and a lack of support but I sincerely hope Malton has a future; and, if it does, it will in no small part be due to all those farmers who used the marketing service through the crisis.

Restrictions have also been eased on movement licences but, frankly, not as much as we had hoped. There are still to be three types of licence, namely Occupational, Local, and Longer Distance.

In the case of Occupational and Local licences, you can now get these through your local vet which should cut down the time to around a couple of days or so.

Long-haul movements have still to go through the ministry and applications have been taking anything up to 7-14 days to be processed.

There is no longer a need for the veterinary inspection on Occupational movements but the vet still has to be involved for the other two.

The Stringer theory

After a lifetime in farming, John Stringer of Acklam Wold has never lost his enthusiasm for lateral thinking, sparked by his university career so many years ago; and he is Ryedale's agricultural philosopher.

John has put together some erudite thoughts on the FMD global problem and entitled his paper "A Maverick View". I have summarised below some of the salient points John makes.

He has a deep-down distrust of the political fallback on 'best scientific advice' which, so far as the Government is concerned, perceives disaster as a consequence of widespread infection. That unproven claim should never be made by scientists; and there is plenty of practical evidence to discount the disaster scenario.

After 500 years or more of an endemic situation, the slaughter policy was introduced at the end of the 19th century, primarily spurred on by the commercial interests of influential pedigree stock breeders.

For better or worse, we are now in a very different environment, with global free trade and where even eradication by slaughter or any other method is either impossible or for practical purposes discounted. The time has come to look at alternatives to blanket slaughter and to consider what damage could be done if the disease became endemic.

From past experience and available research, two valid assumptions may be made in respect of cattle. First, the disease can be successfully treated; and second, only a minority of contact cattle develop clinical symptoms. Most, apparently, react to infection by producing protective antibodies.

Sheep are a very different problem in that their natural grazing habit, over large open spaces, make them an ideal vehicle for spreading the disease; but the clinical impact upon sheep is far less severe and there may be a good case for allowing natural immunity to build up rather than mass slaughter.

Our third major domestic species, pigs, are also quite different. Although indoor pig units should, theoretically, be able to protect their herds, this may not be so for the increasing number of outdoor units. In the case of pigs, early diagnosis and immediate slaughter may be the only answer.

I finish with John Stringer's final paragraph in full: "When the present holocaust comes finally to its end and we review the situation in which we shall find ourselves, I think there will be a place for new, more imaginative approaches. Cattle, sheep and pigs need separate consideration which may point to different policies for each. Slaughter, vaccination, breeding and management would all have their place in an overall policy which recognised the impossibility of permanent eradication, and the hazards of frontal assault on Nature."

Anyone wanting a full copy of John's paper please let me know.

Sheep in sitting room

I know you will all have seen it, but I still think it conjures up a wonderful picture of Carolyn Hoffe hiding her five pet sheep in the sitting room of her Dumfries home.

Long may her barricades keep out the official slaughtermen.

Marketing service

We are heading towards another bank holiday weekend and the marketing pattern is a bit more erratic than in recent weeks.

Cattle numbers have dropped, either through shortage or bypassing the system.

Demand has certainly changed, with the release of slaughter stock from infected areas which in turn has overloaded a lot of abattoirs to the north who are now clearing the backlog.

We are constantly seeking alternative slaughter places and trade has only slipped marginally with 'R' grade cattle still running from 165-170p/kilo. Deals are not always what they seem on the surface and we need to be vigilant about weight and deductions.

The sheep scene is pretty volatile, with a lot of abattoirs wanting to go onto spring lamb if there was enough about. Mopping up the remaining hoggs is a matter of urgency now; and anyone with hoggs to sell should get them moved as soon as possible. Hogg prices have slipped to around 190-210p/kilo; and spring lamb varies from 260-280p/kilo.

Pigs are not too plentiful and trade has held up with the best lightweight end making from 105-112p/kilo. Bacon pigs are running from 95-103p/kilo. Sows have suffered a little recently and are struggling around 30-35p/kilo.

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

If the situation continues to improve, Charlie Breese is planning to hold a Farmers Market on Saturday, May 26, with the usual auction of live poultry and garden sundries.

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, May 03, 2001