NBA chief calls for cash 'carrot' in drive to eradicate BVD

A FINANCIAL carrot, not a legislative stick should be used in the cattle industry to eradicate bovine viral diarrhoea.

That is the view of Hamish McBean, the newly-elected chairman of the Scottish region of the National Beef Association. He said yesterday that efforts to eliminate BVD in Scotland would be more successful if initial government cash support was used to cover the cost of on-farm blood testing within the suckler herd to identify and remove persistently infected cattle on a voluntary basis.

"Testing for BVD in the suckler herd cannot be done on a routine basis through the milk, as it will be for the dairy herd. Each suckler cow will have to be individually blood tested with the owner facing both veterinary and laboratory costs, which stacked together could become a disincentive to quickly joining at the early stages.

"Farmers respond much better to carrots rather than sticks and it could be counterproductive, even disruptive, if the compulsory stick was introduced too early and vets arrived on farms each year to force removal."

This view puts the NBA at odds with other organisations, such as NFU Scotland, who favour government assistance being targeted at covering the cost of removal for slaughter of persistently infected animals.

The association feels the national anti-BVD scheme would attract more good will, and a more enthusiastic overall response, if compulsion was not installed until the operation had reached its mopping up stage.

McBean said farmers accepted the drag that BVD had on the cattle industry and would be supportive of its eradication. He was sure farmers would take on the responsibility of ensuring that no knowingly-infected cattle were traded.

The government yesterday announced an extension to the 16 July to its consultation on BVD eradication, a move supported by NFU Scotland vice-president Nigel Miller.

He said that hundreds of farmers had already attended meetings in Inverurie, Castle Douglas, Stirling and Ayr, and the Union had others organised in Perth and Campbeltown.

In addition to the meetings, a large number of farmers had also submitted their views on the eradication of the disease.

However, Miller stuck to the Union line of making part of the eradication scheme compulsory. "We believe that BVD is of such serious financial and welfare significance to all Scottish cattle herds that it needs to be tackled in a positive manner. We believe eradication is realistic and potentially cost effective but only if the scheme is national with an element of compulsion.

Miller accepted there would be a cost to producers but felt they should weigh that against the significant economic benefits they could get from a BVD free herd.