Powys farmer faces £25,000 bill to move sheep across border
Powys farmers could be forced to pay up to £25,000 to move their sheep across the Welsh border in new rules expected to be brought in by the Welsh Government.
In a move to tackle the Bluetongue virus the Welsh Government will not allow sheep or cattle to cross the Welsh border without it being tested for the virus which has been rife in Eastern England.
Bo Herdman, who runs a farm in Painscastle also has 100 acres of grazing land and said the cost of moving sheep would be prohibitive.
'To bring those sheep home it would cost me somewhere between £24,000 to £25,000,' said Bo.
'I cannot afford to do it.'
This is made more complicated by the fact that the land in England is on a flood plain meaning he sometimes has to move the sheep in a matter of hours.
Bo is also concerned with trading as he currently trades in Hereford and Talgarth Livestock markets.
He expects prices for breeding rams to be 'absolutely astronomical' as stocks will be low without English livestock, adding: 'Selling in England isn't a no-go but it is now a massive gamble."
He told the County Times that he has serious concerns about grazing, which has been complicated by dry spells over the previous 18 months
'Fodder is in short supply, sheep ordinarily go over the border in autumn and come back to lamb,' said Bo. 'Now they can't go. So we are building up a massive welfare problem.
'I am petrified. I was seeing the sheep in England this morning and I was thinking what the hell am I going to do with these sheep?'
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James Gittens has holdings in Montgomeryshire and in Shropshire, and fears the rules could have a devastating impact if they are not changed.
'Unfortunately the Welsh Government's decision will have a bigger effect than the bluetongue virus will itself,' said James.
'Testing will cost £60-£70 per head, the breeding stock isn't even worth that, the test would cost more than the livestock. It is not viable at all.'
He called for the rollout of the vaccine which is much cheaper, with vaccinating 30 animals costing about the same as one bluetongue test.
'In the worst-case scenario, we are going to see the numbers of lambs produced in Wales drop by 10 to 20 per cent, from which it may never recover.' added James.
'The initial problems will not be evident it will be the long-term effects. It may take 12 months.
'We are going to see a lot less lambs and more sold on a deadweight system. We won't be able to get them cheaper at auction as there will be less lambs to bid at. But lambs going straight to the factory meaning farmers will be paid less just like it was in foot and mouth.'
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