My new year’s wish is for the Scottish Government to wake up to the danger of delaying BVD eradication any longer and knuckle down to finish the programme. Despite potential Brexit turmoil on the horizon, we cannot be distracted from the day job.

Our BVD eradication programme has continually been forgotten and deferred by the top decision-makers in the Scottish Government with general elections and referendums being blamed for delayed proceedings. The next phase of the programme is planned for the end of 2019, which makes it a staggering three years late. It seems that animal health is less of a priority than previously.

The longer we wait to bring in the next phase of tighter restrictions, the greater risk of breakdowns and a great fall backwards. Just look at the progress being made in Ireland, despite starting years after Scotland. They are tagging all the calves to target the persistently infected animals (PIs) and get them out of the system.

BVD is still a real threat in Scotland and farmers need to take precautions to avoid infection. Remember the importance of sourcing low-risk cattle with special care taken when purchasing pregnant females. Vaccination is still a wise shelter against infection taking hold in your herd.

But the real onus is on the government to get the final phases of the programme mapped out to end the disease.

The later stages in the programme will get more difficult, but if we don’t finish the job, you question why we started.

2019 is going to be a defining year in all the history of farming but we must not let tectonic changes distract from the day job.