Live valuations of reactor cattle was the main concern of farmers at Tuesday’s Department of Agriculture/IFA TB meeting in Killarney. This was the latest in a succession of meetings, following those in Cootehill, Fermoy, and Enniscorthy.

The meetings are a significant commitment from the department, with senior veterinary inspector Eoin Ryan, Colm Forde who oversees the finances of the programme, and head of valuations Dan Molloy present.

The science surrounding the bovine TB test itself was explained by Eoin Ryan.

“The two most stressful days in the year on a farm are the day you test and the day you read,” said Colm Forde.

When the subject changed from testing to valuations, the tone changed. The Department seemed to justify the current regime rather than absorb the concerns being raised.

These centred around the valuation of breeding stock in particular.

The lack of recognition of the value of older high-genetic-merit cows and bulls on dairy and beef farms was summed up by a comment from Kerry IFA chair Pat O’Driscoll: “A cow is much more than just a hunk of meat.”

The point was made that most sales of high-value older stock are now made privately, while the Department bases its valuations on the stock that pass through mart sales rings.

Infected wildlife, particularly deer, are a thorny issue in Kerry, and the need to control the expanding wild deer herd to protect livestock from cross-infection was stressed.