Foot & Mouth Disease

In 2001, though we were not directly affected by foot and mouth, we were subject to stringent movement directions and had to implement strict bio-security measures. The greatest impact of course was that we were unable to buy or sell stock and there was great uncertainty about whether the method of selling through an auction mart would survive. We decided that if we were forced to slaughter our cattle and sheep we would not re-stock.

The local Auction Mart in Dingwall remained very positive throughout, in particular retaining its staff to wash and clean their facilities to the highest possible standard, though they had no throughput of animals.

On 12 September 2001 we were able to put the first of our animals to market, selling sixty lambs through the "store" ring (though we can sell privately, we sell animals through two methods at the auction mart: the store sale is where they are bought by people who intend to retain them for breeding the following year, or to feed them until they reach the second stage, viz the prime sale where they are sold through the ring to butchers and meat wholesellers because they have achieved the desired weight and condition for their purposes. Though it was to be expected, everybody was disappointed with the prices being achieved.

Assurance schemes

In 2001 we joined the Quality Meat Scotland assurance schemes for cattle and sheep. This means that we, the farm and the animals all have to meet the standards set by QMS. The purpose is that buyers of our livestock can be assured that we have practised high standards of animal health and welfare, that we have in place a system for identifying and treating animals which are ill, that we have formal plans in place with our local veterinary practice, that the farm environment is healthy, that we observe waste management rules, that we source food only from a similarly assured outlet and that we have available suitable transport. Each year we are inspected to make sure that we achieve the Farm Assured standards.

Highlands and Islands Sheep Health Association(HISHA)

Though we were aware that the original sheep bought for us were "accredited" we were not exactly sure what that meant. We learned later of course that it meant that the flocks from which they had been sourced had been tested and were free from the highly contagious disease "enzootic abortion of ewes" (EAE).

The scheme is part of the Sheep and Goat Heath Schemes administered by the Scottish Agricultural College base in Inverness in collaboration with local veterinary practices. The rules are the same as those of the Premium Health Scheme run by the SAC in other parts of the country.

We continued to buy our replacements only from EAE accredited flocks but were slightly reluctant to join ourselves since it involved yet another cost. Another drawback was that we would have to buy female sheep only from EAE flocks (as we were later to discover this can be quite restrictive.)

Willie and Heather Stewart, neighbours and friends, who been advising and providing hands-on lambing assistance were members of HISHA and Heather is the local secretary. I suppose it was inevitable that we would join and did so in 2004.

One of the vets from Conanvet, Ardlair, Conon Bridge attended, took blood samples from a proportion of ewes and then submitted them to the laboratory at the Veterinary Division of the SAC. In 2004 we were able to sell our lambs under a "supervised" label which applies for the first year of membership. In 2005, further negative samples were taken meaning that we were able to sell fully accredited sheep for the first time.

Land Management Contract

In 2005, as part of the government's single farm payment scheme operated and run for us by the Scottish Executive, we agreed to enter into a land management contract (you may have read of the scheme which offers farmers a payment if they revert to the method of cutting and storing hay by "binder" which was practised once upon a time before being superseded by efficient methods using machinery.)

The section that we thought meaningful related to animal health and welfare. We were visited by Graeme Swanson, a partner at Conanvet, who drew up a plan for us to follow in relation to:

• treatment guidance and advice, preventative medicine, vaccine programme
• performance indicators to benchmark ourselves against other farms
• a biosecurity plan, and
• sampling to identify possible disease problems

HI Health (Highland & Islands Cattle Health Scheme)

As part of the Land Management Contract we joined this scheme which was first established in 1999. It is administered and promoted by Orkney Livestock Association and was established to pioneer a cattle health scheme but now includes sheep. Currently, it is said to be the largest health scheme of its kind in the UK.