Farming News – October 2023

It came as a shock, whilst I was paying a bill with my bank card, to find that my bank account of the last 43 years, had been closed without notice. My money is still with them and finally they have sent a cheque, but this is only payable into the account which is already closed. I have been left unable to pay for anything until I can get a new account with a different bank, and this is proving extremely difficult. September is always a busy month with land requiring preparation for winter cereals but much of this September has been spent at the computer trying to find a bank to accept me and my money!

An additional trouble of September has been another notification that I am again under TB restrictions. This is because another farmer has brought infected cattle from an area with tuberculosis into this part of the country, yet myself and others around me must pay the vet fees for testing our cattle to prove that they are clear of the disease. I am appealing against these restrictions because none of my cattle have been on fields within 3 kilometres of the new outbreak.