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Farming

Pembrokeshire poultry premises hit by bird flu

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ON SATURDAY, September 10, Wales’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Christianne Glossop, confirmed the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in poultry at a large site in Pembrokeshire.

It was the second confirmed case of avian influenza in Wales this week, following an outbreak in Gwynedd.

A further potential case in Ceredigion is being investigated.

PROTECTION ZONE ANNOUNCED

A 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone have been declared around the infected premises to limit the risk of disease spread.

Within these zones, bird movements and gatherings are restricted, and all holdings that keep birds must be declared.

The measures are stricter in the 3km Protection Zone. 

They include provisions for the movement of poultry and eggs under controlled conditions and provisions for housing poultry to reduce the risk of contamination.

It is vital that keepers of birds remain vigilant and ensure they have the highest levels of biosecurity.

The UK health agencies advise that the risk to public health from the virus is very low. 

The UK food standards agencies advise that avian influenza poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF PEOPLE WHO KEEP BIRDS

ALL keepers of kept birds should be vigilant for signs of the disease such as increased mortality, respiratory distress, food or water intake drops, or egg production.

You can consult your veterinary surgeon in the first instance if your birds are unwell.

If you or your vet suspect that avian influenza could be causing illness in your birds, you must, by law, report this to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. This will trigger a disease investigation by APHA vets.

You must apply strict biosecurity measures to prevent any materials, equipment, vehicles, clothing, feed, or bedding that wild birds could have contaminated from coming onto your premises.

Full details and a checklist are available here: https://bit.ly/MHAvianFlu.

DISEASE SPREADS FROM WILD BIRD POPULATIONS

Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease.

It affects many species of birds’ respiratory, digestive, or nervous systems.

Some strains of Avian influenza can spread easily and quickly between birds and have a high death rate.

Migratory seabirds and waterfowl are known carriers of avian flu.

The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain originated in the intensive poultry industry in Asia and has since spread into wild bird populations worldwide.

It reached Pembrokeshire’s seabird colonies in July this year when it was detected on Grassholm.

Grassholm is known for its huge colony of northern gannets; the island has been owned since 1947 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and is one of its oldest reserves.

A National Nature Reserve, Grassholm is the world’s third most important site for gannets.

It serves as a breeding site for 36,000 pairs of gannets and supports around 10 per cent of the world population.

Migratory waterfowl and gulls are the most likely cause of HPAI incursion. Migratory wildfowl include ducks, geese, and swans.

The risk of avian influenza being introduced into domestic poultry or other captive birds will depend on the prevalence and pattern of virus shedding in wild birds, the level of biosecurity in place on poultry holdings or bird premises and other factors.

Detailed epidemiological assessments are made at each poultry and captive bird infected premises to investigate the possible source and spread.

All available evidence indicates that direct or indirect contact with infected wild birds is the source of infection on almost all of the kept bird premises.

The HPAI virus (bird flu) risk increases during the winter.

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales, Dr Gavin Watkins, said: “There has been an unprecedented incursion of avian influenza into Great Britain and Europe in 2022 and keepers of birds must be vigilant and ensure they have the very highest levels of biosecurity in place.

“There is always more that can be done to protect your birds.

“As we move into the Autumn and Winter, I urge you all to review the measures in place and identify areas of improvement.

“Think about risks from direct contact with wild birds, especially waterfowl, and also the things that could be contaminated by bird droppings – clothing and footwear, equipment, vehicles, feed and bedding.

“Make improvements where you can prevent further spread of this devastating bird disease.

“Good biosecurity is always key in protecting animals from disease.”

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Farming

Value of hedges in storing carbon below ground studied in soil project

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THE ROLE hedges play in capturing carbon and storing it in soils is being investigated as Farming Connect gathers soil samples from across Wales in an initiative that will provide important benchmarking data for farmers.

Data collection for the second year of the Welsh Soil Project is underway, and this time soil samples have also been taken from land within a metre from field hedges, in addition to within-field samples.

Dr Non Williams, Farming Connect’s Carbon Specialist Officer, said the aim is to compare soil carbon stocks within fields and under woody vegetation.

“We often get questions from farmers about this, and we hope that the results of this project will provide them with the answers,’’ she said.

“Estimating the soil carbon levels by hedges will help to highlight their importance for climate change mitigation.’’

Farmers have a key role to play in tackling climate change and soils can play an important part in that.

The Welsh Soil Project samples are being analysed ahead of Wales Climate Week in December.

Over 1,000 samples were taken from farms that are a part of Farming Connect’s Our Farms Network, which were then analysed for organic matter content and bulk density, as well as other measurements.

For uniformity, all samples were collected within the same period this autumn and from grass fields including permanent pasture, hay and silage fields, and reseeds.

“This project looks at how varying management intensities, along with geographical factors, are impacting soil carbon stocks across Wales.”

Soil was taken from multiple depths, from the top 10cm layer to a depth of 50cm.

Dr Williams, who is leading the project, is a speaker at a major soil science event in Belfast in December.

At the British Society of Soil Science and the Soil Science Society of Ireland Annual Conference, she will deliver a presentation on the preliminary results of the project.

Soil carbon and carbon in general are also themes at three Farming Connect Masterclasses taking place in February 2024.

Dr Williams, who will lead these workshops, said it will give farmers an opportunity to improve their understanding of the basics of carbon footprinting prior to carrying out a carbon audit for their farms.

“These interactive workshops will focus on breaking down the carbon jargon, allow farmers to learn about the significance of the carbon cycle to their farm, and how it can be influenced to help reduce the farm’s carbon footprint in the future,’’ she said.

The events will take place at Llety Cynin, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, on 6 February, at Elephant and Castle, Newtown, on 8 February, and at Nanhoron Arms Hotel, Nefyn on 20 February, all from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Further details on how to book a place can be found on the Farming Connect website.

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Farming

Time to ‘protect Welsh farming from the Welsh Government’ – Gwlad Gwlad

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GWYN WIGLEY EVANS, leader of Gwlad Gwlad, the Welsh Independence Party that believes in a working economy (www.gwlad.org) has spoken out on the threat not just to Welsh farming but the lives of Welsh farmers posed by the Welsh Government’s new Habitat Wales scheme.

Gwyn Wigley Evans explained the impact of the scheme: “The Welsh Government’s new scheme will reduce farmers to badly paid environmental managers. It is equivalent to planting trees on rugby pitches and still expecting games of rugby. The former farmers will see incomes fall by 50 to 90%. Each family farm supports 7 businesses within 20 miles. They can all expect massive reductions.”

Gwyn Evans has direct engagement with the social impact of difficulties in rural communities. He has been a Samaritan and CRUSE (Bereavement Counselling) counsellor for 23 years. Addressing his remarks to Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Government Rural Affairs Minister, he pointed out “This policy will leave blood on the Welsh Government’s hands. The Samaritans, DPJ, Tir Dewi are going to be busy. This policy will pull the trigger on the guns. The effects of the Habitat Wales scheme will clear the environment of people as deliberately as the Highland Clearances.”

When addressing actions to follow he said “Plaid Cymru is no use to Welsh Farmers. They support Mark Drakeford’s Rural Affairs policies meeting the goals of London Labour environmentalists not Welsh Farmers. Gwlad Gwlad will hold a meeting at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on 27 November 2023 to focus on how to resist the worst impacts of the Habitat Wales scheme.Exports of Food and Drink were worth £797m to the Welsh economy in 2022 and are growing faster than the UK as a whole.

The world is full of small countries which have powered ahead, economically and socially, since achieving their independence. Gwlad Gwlad believes that Wales should be one of them: a prosperous, successful independent country enjoying good relations with its neighbours and comfortable in its own skin.

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Farming

Leader of Welsh Lib Dems visits Carmarthenshire farm to highlight farmers concerns

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LAST WEEK (Nov 16) the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS visited Blaencennan farm in Llangadog to highlight issues affecting common land farmers in Wales.

During the visit, the following issues were raised:

-Concerns around the Habitat Wales Scheme.

-The importance of Welsh communities and the Welsh language and how the farming industry ties into that.

-The willingness of farmers to diversify their businesses.

-Commonland farming being included in the Universal payments in the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

-Ensuring that land is being farmed and not just being left, with non-grazed dry land presenting a potential fire risk.

Mrs Dodds also welcomed on the visit the Rural Affairs Minister for Wales Lesley Griffiths MS, as well as representatives from the National Farmers Union.

Commenting, Jane Dodds MS said: “It was a pleasure to visit Blaencennan farm today alongside the Minister Lesley Griffiths MS and representatives from the National Farmers Union.

Many farmers across Wales are being faced with an uncertain future and they desperately need our support.

My hope from this visit is that the concerns of the farming community are listened to and acted upon.

The Habitat Wales scheme is laden with pitfalls caused by incorrect mapping of farmland areas and a considerable low compensation offer to farmers that will leave them worse off.

If we are going to be serious about the creation of a sustainable farming model, then it is vital that we fix these errors before the scheme is launched.

It is clear to see that farmers want to do the right thing by helping the environment and by working together we can bring a brighter and greener future for Wales.”

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