Farmers face up to latest crisis

Foot-and-mouth crisis comes only months after swine fever outbreak

The foot-and-mouth outbreak is the latest in a series of catastrophes to strike Britain's ailing agricultural sector.

The re-emergence of the disease comes less than a month after new figures showed that farm incomes have plummeted by more than two-thirds in the past five years.

Coverage of Britain's farming crises has concentrated on the BSE and CJD scandal but farmers have suffered across the board.

Swine fever, a "BSE in sheep" scare, as well as falling milk and cereal prices have made sure the sector as a whole has suffered.

String of crises

BSE scandal

BSE in sheep scare

Swine fever outbreak

Drop in milk prices

Costs of new regulations

Strong pound

Bad weather

The current operation to halt the spread of foot-and-mouth disease echoes the measures taken in August last year after the outbreak of swine fever at three farms in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

After the first British outbreak for 14 years, the EU temporarily banned live pig exports and movement restrictions were placed on all livestock as efforts were made to contain the disease.

But it is BSE that has dominated the headlines during farming's darkest years.

Lord Phillips' recent report on the disease placed much of the blame for the crisis on "institutional shortcomings" with politicians and civil servants failing to be open about potential risks to human health.

Livelihoods destroyed

As well as the tragic loss of life as a result of vCJD, the human form of BSE, the livelihoods of thousands of farmers were destroyed.

With the introduction of the ban on British beef exports, foreign markets worth nearly £650m a year disappeared.

By the end of the two-and-a-half-year ban the industry is thought to have lost more than £1.6bn.

The permanent effect of BSE on the beef trade is well-known. During 2000, exports were worth only £5m down from £520m before the ban in 1996.

Sheep farmers have been hit by a fall in the price of lambs.

Sheep farmers found themselves caught up in the fallout from the BSE scandal, with scientists suggesting it was possible the disease could be present in sheep.

Pound's strength

As well as damage from the continuing strength of the pound, some export markets were closed off to British sheep as destinations had to conform to the same abattoir rules as the UK and profits were hit by increased processing costs.

Less prominent than the crisis in Britain's livestock sector, is the downturn for cereal growers hit by an income drop of 61%, partly as a result of poor commodity prices.

The recent storms and heavy rains disrupted planting and destroyed crops, leaving sugar beets rotting in the ground.

Prior to the foot-and-mouth outbreak there had been some cautious optimism among farming leaders.

New figures from the UK Farm Business Survey (FBS) showed progress had been made in the pig and poultry sectors as well as small price increases in sheep farming.

Suicides increasing

But overall incomes at farm level fell by about 10%, bringing the average farm income down to £5,200.

Total Income From Farming (TIFF) figures for 2000 show a fall in income of some 27% in real terms to £1.88bn, down by more than two-thirds over the past five years.

Low incomes and immense pressure have taken their toll on farmers with an average of one a week committing suicide.

Figures released in November, compiled by the Rural Stress Information Network, showed that during 1999, 56 farmers and farm managers killed themselves.

The total including all workers within the industry was 77 and officials fear that the figures for last year could be worse.