Minette Batters: Losing herds to TB has driven farmers to the edge

Minette Batters carried on the family tradition as a cattle farmer despite her fathers reservations Alice Thompson and Rachel Sylvester March 8 2014 Minette Batters is up at 5.30am with her terrier, driving her tractor round her farm in i!tshire, reversing horse "o#es,

manoeuvring diggers and enticing her favourite cow, B!ac$ie, out of the "arn "efore a coffee and the schoo! run. %aving "een warned "& her father as a teenager that farming wasnt for gir!s, the s!ender, "!onde '()&ear)o!d sing!e mother has *ust "een voted the first woman deput& president of the +ationa! ,armers -nion in .05 &ears. /Traditiona!!& women didnt farm "ut the more 0 was to!d 0 cou!dnt do something, the more 0 wanted it. 0 grew up on this farm and was in !ove with it "ut m& father, who was a tenant farmer, was ver& resistant a"out me ta$ing over. %e rea!!& strugg!ed, he thought women shou!d "e in the $itchen. But m& "rother didnt want to farm so 0 was determined to get the tenanc& "ac$.1 +ow there are 23,000 women in farming. /3 !ot of daughters are rea!!& $een. This p!ace was run)down when 0 too$ over in .445. There wasnt a fence. 0t was ver& fragi!e. There were on!& 30 acres so 0 had to diversif&. 0 now have a .00)strong suc$!er herd, "ut 0 a!so trained in catering so 0 run a wedding "usiness in our "arn and we have a horse !iver& "usiness and !oo$ after po!o ponies in the winter.1 ,armers, she thin$s, have to em"race the g!o"a! mar$et. /There is a huge demand for British produce. 0f 2 per cent of 6hina is prepared to pa& more for our product n we must go there.1 The British sti!! spend !ess of their income on food than an& other 7uropean nation, preferring cheap cuts of "eef, cut)price "urgers and "argain s!iced "read to more e#pensive produce. / e do !ive in a cheap food societ& "ut we a!so !ove anima!s so we need to convince peop!e that the& want their cows and sheep raised we!! and that costs mone&.1 0t has wor$ed in the pou!tr& industr&, she sa&s. /8eop!e want free)range and corn)fed now, the& !i$e to $now that the anima!s have had a "it of a !ife9 the& have a naive image that the chic$ens are a!! running around in orchards "ut the& do get to scratch in the dirt and fresh air. 0ts harder with catt!e: peop!e dont want to $now the connection with their sausages and "urgers.1 ,armers seem to garner !itt!e s&mpath& even when their fie!ds f!ood or their herds "ecome infected with TB, un!i$e in ,rance where the& are seen as nationa! treasures. /0ts much "etter now than it was,1 Ms Batters sa&s. /8rogrammes !i$e Countryfile have made a massive difference.1

%er greatest frustration now is that the farmers ro!e as custodian of the countr&side is "eing ta$en awa&. /0 farm on the 3von va!!e&, which is an :::0 ;:ite of :pecia! :cientific 0nterest<. This environment was created "& farmers who care a"out the environment. The $now!edge "ase we have on waders and the "iodiversit& of the river is incredi"!e and &et now &ou have outfits !i$e +atura! 7ng!and who ma$e up their own po!icies and dont !oo$ to the !oca! farmers for their e#pertise.1 The recent f!ooding on the :omerset Leve!s and around :a!is"ur&, inc!uding on her farm, has "een e#acer"ated "& certain =uangos o"sessions, she "e!ieves. />ou have this desire now from +atura! 7ng!and for water courses to return to their natura! state. 0 thin$ the thing to go "ac$ to is that the water coursewa&s in this countr& are artificia!. The water meadows "& m& farm were "ui!t "& the ?utch in the .@th centur&, the river was a!wa&s c!eared, we had the weed cut. Then the 7nvironment 3genc& too$ over from the !oca! river "oard who dug out the ditches . . . and +atura! 7ng!and said the& want a !ot of rewi!ding and rewetting.1 The resu!t, she sa&s, is that man& farmers have !ost hundreds of thousands of pounds that the& spent !ast &ear reseeding their f!ooded meadows, on!& to see them under water again. /0 am not sa&ing the Leve!s wou!dnt have f!ooded, "ut not to the e#tent the& did. 0t was a massive cost)cutting measure to do nothing. The& *ust thought, !et it go. 0ts ver& narrow)minded.1 0t amaAes her that whi!e the ?efra ;?epartment for 7nvironment, ,ood and Bura! 3ffairs< "udget decreases dai!&, the 7nvironme nt 3genc& is now the second !argest in the wor!d. /Their "udget is vast. >et their view is, Lets a!!ow the countr&side to return to its natura! state. Lets ignore it and it wi!! go awa& C its too difficu!t. +atura! 7ng!and is frustrating too. 0t hasnt got enough farmer invo!vement. The& are "oth unaccounta"!e and the& hide "ehind the 7uropean %a"itats ?irective &et %o!!and, which is a"so!ute!& manicured, is tota!!& comp!iant with the directive. their po!icies are actua!!& detrimenta! to the environment.1 The idea that areas of Britain cou!d "e a"andoned to the e!ements horrifies her. /The ?utch are !iving "e!ow sea !eve!s. need !and in Britain, we are a !itt!e is!and and here we are sa&ing, Dh, !ets *ust !et some of it go, "e su"merged. 0t is disgracefu! and short)sighted. 0f we cou!d do it 300 &ears ago we can ma$e it wor$ now. 8eop!e have "een !iving in these p!aces for generations. To sa& *ust move is e#traordinar&.1 Maintaining this countr&side isnt *ust for the "enefit of peop!e, she sa&s. /There isnt a "ird who can nest an&where on the :omerset Leve!s now. The anima!s, the water vo!es have drowned, their ha"itats have a!! "een swamped.1 The "adger popu!ation, on the other hand, she "e!ieves has got out of contro!. /6att!e give TB to catt!e, "adgers give it to catt!e and catt!e give it to "adgers. >et we are cu!!ing a!! the catt!e and we are not doing an&thing with the "adgers. Loo$ wor!dwide at TB and the on!& wa& an&one has ever got to the "ottom of it is to address "oth sides . . . 0f we wait for a vaccination, the wi!d!ife wi!! "ecome ridd!ed with TB for ever. To have poor ca!ves orphaned is appa!!ing.1 %er own herd has a!wa&s "een TB)free. /But there is a terri"!e suicide rate among farmers and 0 thin$ TB has driven peop!e to the edge. The& !ove their herds and the worst thing with TB is that when &ou get it, &ou cant do an&thing a"out it. 0ts devastating $nowing that &our !ifes wor$ is done for.1 :he worries *ust how far TB cou!d spread if it "ecomes out of contro!. /0 wonder how far off we are off a pu"!ic hea!th ris$, a human hea!th ris$ from TB. The student 0 had wor$ing for me !ast &ear, she e e a!! want the countr&side to f!ourish "ut

hadnt had a B6E *a". TB is an air"orne disease. Thats how "adgers give it to catt!e. 0ts a virus. 0ts crossing species C &oure now seeing it getting into goats, weve had it in pigs, it is a virus thats mutated.1 ,o#es a!so need to "e $ept under contro!, she insists. /The hunting controvers& was a strange one C it wasnt rea!!& a"out the fo#, it was a c!ass war, it was a"out peop!e on horses careering around the countr&side en*o&ing themse!ves and actua!!& how the fo# died was secondar&.1 omen, she thin$s, add a different s!ant to farming. /The& are more aware of the consumer. 8eop!e see a man running a farm and the& thin$ of it more as a "usiness, "ut consumers re!ate more to women . . . the& assume women wi!! understand their concerns a"out food.1 The new deput& president wants her chi!dren to have ever& opportunit& to farm. /%o!!& wants to "e !i$e Mumm&, Eeorge is !ess $een. 0 as$ed him if he wou!d !i$e to go into farming. %es nine. %e said: h& wou!d 0 do it, Mumm&F >ou wor$ rea!!& !ong hours and &ou =uite often dont sme!! ver& nice when we get home from schoo!. %e !oves m& new *o" at the +,- "ecause 0 come in !oo$ing smart after m& meeting da&s and 0m not covered in muc$.1 6urricu!um vitae Born Ma& 25, .4(@ 7ducated Eodo!phin :choo!, :a!is"ur&, and catering co!!ege in London 6areer :he too$ over the tenanc& of her farm in .445 and "ecame count& +,- chairman for this &ear ,ami!& +ine)&ear)o!d twins Guic$ fire ind farm or frac$ingF Both have to "e considered The 3rchers or ,arming Toda&F ,arming Toda& Moors or i!tshire in 20059 e!ected +,- deput& president

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