Bennetts Farms in Worchester has said it will undergo a ‘TB shutdown’ following several positive bovine tuberculosis (bTB) test results from its cows.
The dairy farm reported in a Facebook post on Friday (January 6) that “a few really good milkers and even a young heifer” had to be culled after testing positive during the routine tests.
“TB is an awful part of dairy farming and tens of thousands of cows are slaughtered every year because of it, and we are adding a few more to those statistics,” the post read.
“We have been clear for well over a year now, so are absolutely gutted to be shut down again.
“As well as the financial loss of losing these lovely cows that have tested positive (they all had years ahead of them giving us milk and calves) we are now unable to sell off any of our beef herd until we have had two clear tests in a row, so that is a minimum of 120 days away.
“The financial toll of TB on dairy farmers can be staggering and we are at least for thankful that we are only losing a handful of cows, rather than a significant chunk of our herd.
“You hear cases of farms loosing over 60% of their entire herd sometimes.”
The farm urged those who purchase its milk to not be worried, as there is “no risk of harm to humans from drinking pasteurised milk from a herd shutdown with TB”.
“But we feel it right to share this sad news with our followers: it’s important to share the ups and downs of farming on social media, isn’t it? Please keep absolutely everything crossed for us for our next test in 60 days time.”
