Genetic TB Breakthrough and Northern Ireland Set For New Payment Rules From April

Roslin Institute scientists have announced that farmers may be able to select for bovine tuberculosis (TB) resistance.

Tests performed on a Holstein-Friesian herd identified several genetic codes in cows unaffected by TB that have been linked to resistance to the disease.

However, Professor Glass, lead researcher of the paper which appeared in Heredity last week, said: "Various environmental factors as well as differences in the TB bacteria may also affect susceptibility.”

She added that TB resistance could be used in breeding programmes alongside other control strategies.

Meanwhile, big changes could be in store that will simplify Northern Ireland’s ‘increasingly complicated’ cattle payments system, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC).

The changes are expected to be enforced in the larger factories as of 1 April and follow 12 months of alterations to incentive payments which involved increasing penalties on out-of-spec cattle and over age bulls.

This week, the LMC explained the current 8-14 p/kilo bonus will stop, instead being replaced with what it presumes will be higher prime cattle quotes.

The LMC outlined seven specifications likely to be reviewed. Of these, four involve a maximum £150 penalty if flouted.

These are Farm Quality Assurance Compliance, the number of farm residencies (which must be four of fewer), sufficient standstill days (which can vary from 30 to 90 days) and age – under 30 months for steers/heifers and 16 months for bulls.

The other three categories are weight, grade and country of origin.

Currently, prime cattle are accepted between 260 kg and 420 kg. The LMC expects this to remain.

Regarding live imports, the LMC said non UK origin cows are undesirable and subject to deductions on an individual factory basis, the LMC added.

Grades will see no changes in the prime cattle price grid aside from the removal of the 8-14 p/kg bonus for gold box grades meeting other specification criteria.

The LMC said: ““This will potentially reduce the price differential between current gold box grades and other grades of cattle.”

And finally, England’s red meat and pork industry levy boards EBLEX and BPEX have unveiled a new online data base that maintains market data going back to 1990.

Meatstats is a revived version of Meatfax, formerly organised by the Meat and Livestock Commission and faxed to subscribers.

The free service covers abattoir, global trade, national balance sheet and headage data as well as covering seasonality of the markets both globally and in the UK.