By Gary Ford, head of strategy and producer engagement, BFREPA
We are living through very turbulent times at the moment both in terms of farming and world events.
This is creating uncertainty, anxiety, stress and, in some respects, confusion as to what to do for the best. We often think if only the world would stand still for a while to let things settle down or to get jobs or projects done and over the line. In the absence of that impossibility then a period of calm and reflection, both in our own lives and with world events, is needed. At times like this, more than ever before, we need to focus on what we can control and not worry too much, if at all, about factors outside of our control. We need to take it one step at a time otherwise we risk being overwhelmed.
On the farming front bird flu very much fits into this approach as we see an ongoing risk from bird flu to our businesses over the summer, despite the warm, dry and sunny weather of late.
So, applying this approach, we have no control over the risk of disease spreading in wild birds – which is currently assessed by Defra to be ‘high’ i.e the event occurs very often – and it is wild birds that are the principal way that the disease is being spread across the country and, via direct contact with infected wild birds, getting into our poultry flocks.
We do however have a high degree of control when it comes to reducing the risk level to our farms. Based on Defra’s current assessment the risk level to commercial farms is either ‘medium’ for farms with poor biosecurity or ‘low’ for farms with stringent biosecurity consistently applied at all times. Please remember for farms with stringent biosecurity there is still a risk as ‘low’, in this context, means that the event is rare but does occur.
Think however about what we can control on our farms to reduce the risk – visitors on sight for example – what control do we have over what areas they can access and, fundamentally, who even comes onto farm (ask yourself are they ‘essential’ visitors). We can implement best practice when it comes to accessing the site – the perimeter and access point. We can have a contingency plan in place if the worst were to occur, we can take expert advice from vets and others in the industry – and from the Defra website – on improving our biosecurity and contingency planning. We have control over these area to a greater or lesser extent – ask yourself can improvement be made?
We can’t control everything in life so don’t let that worry you. But talking to and engaging other people can help you make changes to what is in your control and, by doing that, take away some of the uncertainty and anxiety that surrounds all of us at these troubling times.