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Attested Cattle Demand
Page 94
Page 95
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Exclusive Travel Says Ashley Taylor, A.M.I.R.T.E. TOGETHER with steps taken during the past 15 years or so to improve the standard of herds, a change has come about the transport of dairy cattle, nonattested beasts being segregated from the attested with great care. To qualify his animals for attestation, the farmer must have the cattle examined for bovine tuberculosis on three separate occasions and every beast must be clear each time. After the second clear test, the herd can be put into the " supervised " category, finally becoming " attested " after the third examination.
If at a later routine test one of the beasts fails to qualify, the herd again becomes " supervised " until a further clear test is registered. While in the process of becoming attested, the ears of each beast are tagged or tattooed so that they can be individually identified. Licences are necessary if they are to be moved from place to place. Out of a total of nearly 10m. cattle in Britain, a third fall into the attested class.
Cattle from Scotland • Naturally, the most thickly attested areas are the noted milk-producing territories, but, in any case, the majority of the larger dairy herds throughout the country are attested. The attestation campaign that has been in progress since well before the war has caused a flow of cattle from Scotland, but the tendency has been somewhat to reduce movement and, in consequence, the amount of transpart required.
Nowadays, the farmer moving attested cattle is more particular about the haulier and vehicles employed than was the case in the past, as special attention has to be paid to efficiency in general and to cleanliness in particular. Livestock hauliers of good standing seem to have established their own high standards in this respect, it being a particularly important matter, as the haulier is liable to be sued for damages should a herd lose its attested classification as a result of proved conditions in a certain vehicle.
Cleaning by Flame Gun Apart from the ordinary process of washing down between each load, some cattle hauliers are now employing the weed-killing type of flame gun to ensure that bodywork is free from infection.
When attested cattle are moved, the licence for their transfer must accompany them on the vehicle, being collected by the driver and handed to the purchaser or other consignee. Such licences are issued by the veterinary section of the Ministry of Agriculture and no haulier is entitled to move beasts without an accompanying licence, as that Ministry keeps a complete and up-to-date record of the location of all attested cattle.
It is the custom for cattle auctioneers at the smithfields . to divide the sales into attested and non-attested sections so that cattle from the two classes do not come into contact with each other. Because of this necessity of avoiding mixing of the two types, the dairy-cattle haulier must run separate services for the attested cattle and when the vehicles are in use for this purpose they must not carry any other animals whatever.
In many quarters there is a belief that because of the various restrictions mentioned, the cost of carrying attested cattle must necessarily be higher than for non-attested, but this need not be so, as the growing percentage in the attested class means that it is quite likely that the bulk of the beasts being moved in any particular area will be attested.
Indeed, in the course of a few years it may well be that the tendency will be in the opposite direction with higher rates for non-attested cattle; as these will almost certainly be a minority in the dairy districts and there may be difficulty in arranging full loads.
There are about 80,000 attested herds with a total of over 31m_ beasts. Both Scotland and Wales have More than 51 per cent. attested, whilst for England the figure is now 28 per cent.
Some small sections of Scotland are already fully attested and next autumn Ayr, now 92 per cent., Bute Don-attested district, now 80 per cent., Wigtowri 88 per cent., Kirkcudbright, 88 per cent., Renfrew, 87 per cent., and Dumfries, 86 per cent., together with part of the Kintyre peninsula and neighbouring Argyll islands, will be declared eradication areas. Welsh counties of Cardigan 97 per cent., Carmarthen (except Bettws Mountain district)' 85 per cent. and part of Pembroke, 63 per cent., 'will also become eradication areas.
Outstanding English counties are Westmorland, 79 per cent., and Cumberland, 60 per cent., and these, together with the detached portion of Lancashire north of Morecambe Bay, are likely to be developed as future eradication areas.
Now that the dairy cattle industry Is more highly organized, the haulier is obtaining greatly advanced notice of when loads are to be carried. In former days there was nothing unusual in instructions being received late on one night for the movement of beasts to a market on the following day, or even for orders to be given' during the progress of the market at times when profitable sales appeared likely. So far as attested cattle are concerned, the fact that licences now have to be acquired for transfer to take place means that all the inward traffic, at any rate, is invariably arranged well in advance.
£2,000 Loads
The marked rise in cattle prices compared with pre-war days means that it is at present no uncotnmori thing for a haulier to be carrying loads worth £2,000 and upwards,. whilst in the case of pedigree stock the figures may go to many times that amount. In view of these values, the cost of comprehensive insurance cover for livestock hauliers is extremely high.
Under the conditions of carriage of livestock laid down by the Road Haulage Association, however, the carrier's liability, is limited in the case of cattle to £100 per head; it is accordingly the custom for any necessary additional cover to be taken out at the cost of the cattle owner so that damage during loading, unloading or transit is completely covered if higher Values be involved.
A further R.H.A. condition is that all livestock shall be_accompanied by a document which, among other things, gives the number and description of the stock to be carried and the value of each head when of higher value than VW.
' Messrs. Manley's Transport, Audlem, Cheshire, the head of which is Mr. Richard Manley, chairman of the livestock hauliers' functional group of the R.H.A., North-western Area', are typical of modern livestock
hauliers. Mr. Manley started in cattle haulage some 20 years ago at the time of the slump of the early 'thirties and has seen livestock transport grow from a somewhat haphazard affair to the present day when it has reached the status of a small ind ustry.
The fleet is entirely engaged on agricultural haulage, collecting milk, delivering corn; moving grass for drying and supplying such things as sand, gravel, road-making materials, lime and artificial fertilizers to the farmers in the district, in addition to carrying cattle.
Two Seddon oilers are employed on cattle work,. being fitted with container bodies specially built to Mr. Manley's own design. These are operated practically solely for the transport of attested cattle' as almost the only non-attested beasts to be moved are those carried on behalf Of the Ministry of Food for killing. Over 75 per cent. of Mr. Manky's private customers are attested-herd owners.
One tanker in the fleet carries whey from the milk factories for feeding pigs, whilst other vehicles employed are two Thornyerofts, three MorrisCommercials and five Bedfords, all on general duties, with the addition of a breakdown van and an ex-Army gun tractor which is ,sent out to farms when help is required in extricating bogged tractors.
Traffic Lost This year, in consequence of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, there have been standstill orders for long periods in many parts of the country and this has proved a serious matter for those who have been engaged exclusively on the carrying of dairy cattle in those parts. Agricultural hauliers who have other branches of transport have been relatively fortunate for, although it has been inconvenient for them in that they have had to deliver goods by the roadside and similarly to collect from outside the farm gates, they have at least been able to con. iinue to operate.
With a fleet such as that owned by Mr. Manley it has been possible to rearrange duties and, by advancing holiday periods, to make good use of what must ordinarily be idle time.