[Herdygirl]

One of our ewes died last week so the OH took the body to the knacker man.

He said he couldn't count the number of sheep in the pile waiting to be incinerated.

Another of our local deadstock collectors had to halt all collections as he had nearly 4000 carcases waiting to be dealt with.

A local farmer says he has lost 60 ewes, either in lamb or with lambs so they have been lost as well, he says he is thinking of moving to Northern Ireland as he would have got some help there.

The Welsh Assembly have also said they will help with the aftermath of the recent bad weather, not sure about Scotland.

English farmers? well..... we just keep coping... don't we?

[Rosemary]

Scottish Government has released £500,000 to help, I think.

[Herdygirl]

My greatgranny was Scots... do i qualify? 

[Blacksheep]

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/02/04/2013/138410/scottish-government-releases-163500k-for-dead-stock.htm
Might qualify for more if you can find an irish relative, they are providing £5 million in Northern Ireland!

I think support in England amounts to a derogation with regard to burial if the fallen stock lorry couldn't get to you through the snow, however proof of this needs to be supplied and prior agreement from the local authority was also needed about burial location, and only in certain counties.  I had heard about this but hadn't realised about the prior agreement of your local authority being needed, I am not sure whether others knew about the agreements. I assume that most farmers with loses would have waited for the snow to clear, and would not have discovered all the losses until it had, before tackling burial by which time they would need to call in the fallen stock collection anyway.
Other support in England was allowing the use of red diesel in tractors used to help grit lanes.
I guess England must be further advanced in the cost sharing process than Scotland, Wales and NI. Farmers locally (Shropshire Hills) have suffered significant losses.

[Marlboro]

The Welsh Assemblys' help is to allow burial of carcasses where the collecter cannot get to the holding due to snow. Most of the carcasses, but no where near all are on mountainsides where there is no soil to permit burial. This permission was for two weeks which has now passed, the snow has not gone, no one knows how many carcasses still remain in the drifts.
Local collectors are also well behind with many farmers waiting for full boxes to be collected and new boxes brought. The carcasses are having to be kept until enough boxes are available, if the temperature does rise this week that will cause another problem.
On the bright side perhaps the grass will start to grow.

[Herdygirl]

http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/02/04/2013/138410/scottish-government-releases-163500k-for-dead-stock.htm
I guess England must be further advanced in the cost sharing process than Scotland, Wales and NI. Farmers locally (Shropshire Hills) have suffered significant losses.

As far as i am aware there is no cost sharing, English farmers bear the full cost, at our local dead stock collector it is £20 per sheep.

[Blacksheep]

As far as i am aware there is no cost sharing, English farmers bear the full cost, at our local dead stock collector it is £20 per sheep.


Hi Herdygirl, yes, I should have put cost sharing in inverted commas, my understanding of cost sharing is the process of  moving the costs onto the farmer, hence saying that England is further advanced in the process, as in this instance the farmer is bearing all costs in England. 

Ongoing from the snow situation our feed merchant is rationing feed and increasing prices so further costs to be met, just hope the grass starts growing very soon.