Arnold Valley Farmers
Farmers in Arnold Valley since they were married in 1971, Don and Diane Bradley have experienced first-hand the misery of having a TB-infected herd. Since the devastating first TB-positive test, they’ve lost 60 to 70 cows to the disease at an average of $1200 a head. At its worst in 2006 the Bradleys’ farm was placed on “high risk” status, meaning there was a complete restriction on all sales and movement of stock from their farm.
Farmers in Arnold Valley since they were married in 1971, Don and Diane Bradley have experienced first-hand the misery of having a TB-infected herd. Since the devastating first TB-positive test, they’ve lost 60 to 70 cows to the disease at an average of $1200 a head. At its worst in 2006 the Bradleys’ farm was placed on “high risk” status, meaning there was a complete restriction on all sales and movement of stock from their farm.
The Bradleys have worked with TBfree New Zealand since 2001 and are now TB-free. “People don’t really realise the stress and strain having TB puts you under unless they’ve been through it themselves. Now we just have to keep on our toes to make sure our herd isn’t re-infected by possums or new livestock. I just couldn’t get my head around having to watch the young animals we had raised and got ready for production being sent out the gate and off to slaughter before they had even had a chance to work on the farm for us.”. |