GOVERNMENT officials are working with the dairy industry on a ‘recovery plan’ in an effort to overcome the loss of more than 100 cows from the Island’s highest-yielding herd, the Economic Development Minister has confirmed.
While acknowledging that there was not yet a firm indication of what caused the deaths at Woodlands Farm, Deputy Kirsten Morel said it was vital to support dairy farmers at a difficult time.
At least 112 cows have died at Woodlands, making up almost 80% of the farm’s high-yielding ‘group A’ herd, with results awaited from samples sent to UK laboratories.
Deputy Morel said: ‘The Woodlands herd has been extremely important both because of its scale and the amount of milk that it produces.
‘We don’t have a definite cause as yet and are waiting for toxicology results – this detail will influence what action is needed, but we have reached out to farmers to set out an industry-wide recovery plan which I would want to start implementing in January.’
The plan would involve specific work with Woodlands, but also more widely with a dairy industry that has suffered the loss of around 5% of the Islandwide total of milking cows, he added.
Deputy Morel said he was heartened by the way the industry had rallied round to support the Le Boutillier family, who have farmed at Woodlands for five generations, and pleased to have been advised that local milk supplies would not be affected by the recent incident.
The significance of the loss of so many cows was highlighted by Derrick Frigot, past president of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau, who is a renowned expert on the Jersey breed.
‘I’ve never heard of anything on this scale, anywhere in the world – it’s a devastating blow,’ he said. ‘I live very close to Woodlands and I’ve seen Richard [Le Boutillier] grow up and develop the farm from having no more than ten cows to becoming the Island’s highest-producing herd and so important to industry.’
Mr Frigot said that the Woodlands herd was based on bloodlines going back generations, with its development moving to a new dimension following the 2008 decision to allow the importation of bovine semen for use in breeding.
He estimated that cows at Woodlands Farm produced an annual average of around 7,600 litres of milk per cow, compared to an average Island figure of 6,000.
Rebuilding a herd would be a time-consuming process, Mr Frigot added.
‘There are heifers on the farm that will grow and eventually calve, but that will take several years,’ he said.
Mr Frigot added that he had been struck by the way other farmers had stepped up to offer support as the scale of the problem became apparent.
The response to the recent incident saw assistance provided by Guernsey’s states veterinary officer, David Chamberlain, who said he could not recall an incident of such magnitude during 35 years working as a vet in the Channel Islands.
Speaking to Bailiwick Express in Guernsey, he said: ‘This distressing event will inevitably unsettle all involved and my thoughts are with the farmer, their herdsmen, the States of Jersey team handling the situation and especially the vets.
‘The case has been fast-moving and challenging to manage, although thankfully it appears to be limited to a single group of animals and is not a contagious disease.’
Jersey dairy farmer Julia Quenault, who runs the Classic Herd business with her husband Darren, was another to offer sympathy.
‘This is unheard of – it must have been so traumatic and will have so many repercussions over the long term,’ she said.
‘It’s an awful feeling when you lose animals and I just feel terrible for them.’
