The TB Advisory Service (TBAS) are delighted to introduce their inaugural awards for 2021.

We are championing the hard work and effort many farmers are doing to reduce the risk of a TB breakdown and the impact TB can have on farm businesses.

Over the last 3 years we have held meetings, attended shows, spoken at farming events for us to engage with farmers and vets in the concept of #ControlTheControllable.

TB is all to often seen as a Government issue, a disease which farmers and vets can have little influence over, here at TBAS our aim has been to change that mind set, to share the science and evidence around TB in order to encourage farmers to take some ownership and control back.

We are well aware that Government tell farmers and vets, when to test, what to test and more importantly what you can and can’t do with your business if reactors are found. TB is a notifiable disease and there are fixed rules we have to follow in order to prevent TB getting worse and becoming a greater public health issue. These rules are also vital for our national and international trade. Unfortunately, the historical inability to control the rising badger population, where it is recycling disease has also led to a despondency amongst farmers and vets, that TB is out of control and out of their control.

BUT we are big believers just because there are things you can’t control; such as your neighbour’s cattle purchasing behaviour, or the amount of compensation your receive, this shouldn’t prevent farmers and vets doing what is within their power and ability to control.

The TB Advisory Service offers free visits and one to one advise either face to face, via email, or over the phone for cattle keepers in the High Risk and Edge Areas of England. We focus on what farmers can do to reduce the risk from a TB breakdown by managing what and where they buy from, thinking about the risk neighbouring cattle pose, and reducing the risk from badger to cattle and vice versa, by managing access to cattle feed and water both in the farm yard and at pasture. We accept you can’t eliminate risk, but by knowing a seller’s herd TB history before purchasing and why that’s important, preventing badger access to water troughs (TB bacteria can live for up to 60d in water) and not using mineral licks on the ground, for example, you can massively reduce risk.

We can also reduce the risk a TB breakdown can have on a farm business. We can help build TB resilience into a farm business. We discuss planning for the worst; what would you do with all the calves you normally sell under 42days? Would you be able to feed and keep them, or would you be better off selling them into an approved finishing unit (AFU)? Could you become an AFU? This would ensure if your business is fattening cattle, you can keep functioning even if you have a TB reactor. Would your farm have somewhere suitable for an isolation unit, these are especially useful for block calving herds. Many farmers we have carried our TBAS visits for have felt reassured they are doing all they can within their power to reduce TB risk and feel less anxious about their TB test as even if the worst happens they have a plan. 

This willingness to #ControlTheControllable to go above and beyond what government asks of farmers is exactly what we want to show off with our awards! All to often, especially in the national media farmers are criticised for not doing what they can to prevent TB, apparently all they want to do is shoot badgers. We want to show everyone that this is not the case and farmers as always are rising to the challenge, being resourceful, innovative and eager to embrace change for the better, future proofing their businesses.

To nominate please email info@TBAS.org.uk with TBAS awards nomination in the subject.

Or visit our website to complete an entry form www.TBAS.org.uk

You can either self-nominate or nominate a farmers or advisor and complete the entry form yourself, or nominate a farmer or advisor via email with contact details for us to send them an entry form to complete.