One farmer’s struggle to get past the devastation of TB

Close to 4,750 livestock herds went down with TB for the very first time in 2020.

It is a frightening statistic when you consider that TB has the potential to put ordinary family farms out of business – and permanently out of business in some instances.

But statistics, shocking as they may be, can never convey the actual hurt and pain to the individual farmer of a TB outbreak; they are, after all, just numbers.

The real story of TB is carried by the farmers and farm families who have endured breakdowns or are in the midst of the ordeal.

Noel O’Connor is one of those people.

The mixed dairy and beef farmer from Causeway in north Kerry is in the throes of dealing with a devastating TB outbreak.

There were badger setts upset in the area that year and there were problems with TB as a result

He has lost 70 animals to date, and is due the results of another herd test this week or next which could lead to the total depopulation of the farm.

Noel’s first experience with TB was in 2015.

“There were badger setts upset in the area that year and there were problems with TB as a result. We had two animals go down, but we had two clear tests after that and everything went back to normal.”

It was a similar story three years later. He had three reactors in 2018 – two cows cultured out with TB, while one was a doubtful positive – but the O’Connors had two clear tests after that and the issue seemed to have passed.

That was until 23 August this year.

A full test of the O’Connor herd was ordered after 10 weanlings that were sold from the farm tested positive for TB.

Forty-five animals went down in total on the day

Noel was fairly confident that the problem did not originate in his herd as his animals were fully clear when tested in November 2020.

But his confidence evaporated pretty quickly once his vet started reading the results of the skin tests: “1529 was the first cow in the crush; she went down. The fourth cow went down; it went on and on and on like that all morning.

“Forty-five animals went down in total on the day – cows, a bull, yearlings, even five calves went down.”

Devastating

The impact was devastating.

Since Noel usually milks around 100 cows and has over 200 dairy stock, replacements and beef cattle, the loss of so many animals was a massive blow.

“We were reeling, we had no real warning.”

We were given the option of captive bolt or lethal injection. I felt the injection was the least stressful so I opted for that

The trauma was exacerbated by the fact that the five calves were put down in the yard soon after the reading.

The memory of that morning is still raw.

“We were given the option of captive bolt or lethal injection. I felt the injection was the least stressful so I opted for that,” Noel says, his voice breaking with emotion.

“I don’t want it to come across as we had no choice in what happened. We did and took the one that was the least objectionable to us. But I wouldn’t want to do it again.

“Ideally the calves should be taken elsewhere to be put down and I think I’ll insist on that happening the next time.”

I don’t want TB here. I want it gone. The sooner it is gone out of my cattle, out of my yard, the better

In the wake of the August disaster, Noel pushed for a comprehensive blood test of the herd, with all animals undergoing both the Elisa and Interferon-gamma test. He felt an early blood test was the quickest route to identifying reactors and potential reactors.

“I don’t want TB here. I want it gone. The sooner it is gone out of my cattle, out of my yard, the better,” he explains.

Groundhog day

The tests were carried out in early September and a further 25 animals went down with the disease.

Since then Noel describes life on the farm as an “endless groundhog day”.

Efforts to remove all the reactors from the farm were delayed following a Department of Agriculture query on the valuation of 22 animals. A valuation was later agreed and the cattle have since been slaughtered.

The final results of TB blood tests are due this week, and Noel is coming to the point where it would almost be a relief if more of the herd goes down so that he can be fully depopulated.

I was doing OK until the Department queried the valuation of the first of the reactors identified by the blood tests; that really hit me

He accepts that this may sound crazy to an outsider, but he says the pressure and stress of farming under the current restrictions, the income loss because of TB, and the threat to the future of the farm is just totally overwhelming.

“I was doing OK until the Department queried the valuation of the first of the reactors identified by the blood tests; that really hit me. It was a real kick in the guts.

“The whole focus since the start of this has been getting the reactors off the farm as quickly as possible. The Department said the herd had a severe breakdown. Twenty-two of the first 45 animals that went down had visible lesions.”

Noel estimates that the TB breakdown has cost the farm at least €5,000 to date, and that charge is continuing to rise. Compensation is available to farmers, but sifting through the reams of information that affected herd owners receive has been difficult.

My wife Trish has been great with the paperwork, but it certainly is not user-friendly

“I know I am entitled to around €55 per month for the cows, but I’m unsure if I will get this for four months or six months. There are lower rates then for the beef cattle, but I haven’t even looked at that.

“My wife Trish has been great with the paperwork, but it certainly is not user-friendly. We’re flying blind here.

“It really is a case of information overload. We get all this documentation in lumps. Most of it is not relevant, and much is of little use to you. You really have to dig through it to get to the useful material. It’s like they don’t want you to know what you need to know.”

The upcoming TB test will decide the immediate future for Noel O’Connor’s farm.

And while it may seem strange, the finality of total depopulation would be a release for the farmer, and offer some certainty and closure to the current nightmare.

Haunted

Noel is haunted by the fear that there is now latent TB in the herd and a reservoir of future infection in the physical environment of the farm.

He is particularly worried about the calves. Twenty-seven calves passed the TB test in August and have since passed another skin test and two blood tests. But Noel is convinced that they will eventually develop TB.

“I know they passed four tests, but the chances are that there is latent TB in the calves,” he maintains.

The fact that Noel has diabetes, and is effectively immunocompromised, has added to the stress of the TB outbreak. He clearly dreads the prospect of an inconclusive herd test result; and the anguish and uncertainty that it will inevitably bring.

There is also an acute realisation that his mental fortitude has taken a battering over the last five months.

It’s probably best if they are gone at this stage, even though it will break my heart to see the herd cleared out

“It’s impossible to describe the limbo that we have been left in. We can’t make plans or management decisions for the farm.

“We don’t know what is happening tomorrow. All we have is today again tomorrow; and the day after. It’s just an endless groundhog day.”

Noel’s local vets are pushing for depopulation, and on balance he hopes that they get their way – even if it means losing cows that he considers friends.

“It’s probably best if they are gone at this stage, even though it will break my heart to see the herd cleared out.

“Over 50% of the cows [the dairy herd] will have to go down for full depopulation to be sanctioned. It’s a crazy situation but I almost have to hope to Christ that at least 10 more cows go down in this next test.

“Otherwise we will have to go through the whole cycle again; and I don’t know if I could face that.”

Everyday farm management decisions have already been put on hold by the TB outbreak and its consequences.

The delay in agreeing a valuation for the existing TB reactors means Noel was unable to move the animals off the farm and disinfect the winter housing.

This has resulted in stock being kept on the land three weeks longer than normal. This could have had implications if there was a cross-compliance inspection.

Trish and myself will have to sit down with the lads and see what we want to do as a family

These worries have been compounded by Noel’s inability to sell weanlings and store cattle this year. As well as the loss of income, there are the additional feed costs associated with keeping these animals.

Will Noel go back into milk if the herd is fully depopulated?

“I’m not sure. Trish and myself will have to sit down with the lads and see what we want to do as a family.”

The O’Connors have three sons and a daughter, who range from national-school age to an early college student, and any decision regarding the farm will be strongly influenced by their input.

For now, however, the O’Connors’ focus is solely on navigating a way beyond TB.

And that is not proving simple.

In the end all you can do is decide what is the least wrong

“We came into this knowing nothing about TB; we know even less now. It seems that invariably you make the wrong decision,” Noel explains.

“If you go right you’re wrong; if you go left you’re wrong; if you stay in the same spot you’re wrong.

“In the end all you can do is decide what is the least wrong.”

Noel is convinced that badgers were the source of the TB infection that has devastated his herd.

He claims that the initial infection in 2015 followed the disruption of badger setts in the area.

He now believes that the badgers that have dug setts in ditches on the family farm are infected with TB, and that they will be a source of re-infection even if his herd is depopulated.

“We essentially had a closed herd here. We bought in the odd stock bull, but the likelihood that TB was introduced from purchased animals is miniscule,” he maintains.

I’m not calling for the wholesale destruction of badgers, but if this farm is restricted for TB, then the badger setts need to be restricted

“In my opinion, the source of the TB was badgers. That means that the setts are infected, which means there’s a reservoir of re-infection on the farm.”

Although the setts were cleared of badgers after the 2015 and 2018 outbreaks, Noel is adamant that the TB threat from the local badger population will again have to be addressed if the Department of Agriculture is to successfully counter the problem of TB in cattle herds in the area.

“I’m not calling for the wholesale destruction of badgers, but if this farm is restricted for TB, then the badger setts need to be restricted.

“If the badger issue is not tackled, is there any point going back into cattle? I could be back in the same place in three or four years’ time.”

He says a strategy to address TB infection in wildlife needs to be enforced in parallel to the eradication scheme for livestock.

When Geronimo was put down, it was portrayed by the media as a tragedy. My cows were just a statistic

“If the authorities stop farmers controlling badgers, and I fully agree with that, then they have to take responsibility for the badgers. For me to be able to get back into livestock, the danger of TB re-infection must be minimised. The Department will have to limit the number of badgers on the farm.”

However, Noel is not confident that this will happen. He maintains that TB-infected wildlife and exotic animals are treated very differently to farmed livestock.

The British-owned alpaca Geronimo is a case in point, he says.

“When Geronimo was put down, it was portrayed by the media as a tragedy. My cows were just a statistic.”