Archived News

22nd September 2007
Just when we thought things had to get better - There is an announcement from DEFRA of the first UK case of Bluetongue in the country.  This is a disease that has been in the Netherlands, France and Germany for some time. It was only a matter of time before it arrived on our shores via midges carrying the virus and we have been reading about it in the farming press for months. So I guess we did think it would reach us sooner rather than later.

Wind direction must be favourable to initially bring the disease carrying midges across from mainland Europe. Once here the midges infect an animal with the Bluetongue virus. In order for the disease to spread, a midge must feed on the blood of an infected animal, the virus multiplies in the midge and then the midge transports the disease to another animal and so on. In a flock of sheep, 70% would die and the survivors would have lowered productivity.
It's 10.35 pm and Laurence has just returned to the grain store to check the grain being dried.  The drier runs day and night at this time of year so he tends to work into the early hours of the morning.

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