I’ve previously mentioned in this column how much good the series Clarkson’s Farm has done for the farming community by highlighting different issues. I’ve spoken to people who don’t have a farming background who now feel like it’s something they want to get into having watched the series; it’s brought a lot of positives whilst also highlighting the challenges faced by farmers day to day. Recently one issue that it has highlighted is one that is all too familiar and worrying for farmers everywhere - and that’s the spread of Bovine TB. Jeremy Clarkson posted on social media last week that his Diddly Squat farm - the subject of the Amazon Prime series - has had positive or inconclusive tests for the disease, adding that “everyone is absolutely devastated”. It’s an ongoing issue. Contrary to what many believe, farmers do have “favourites” when it comes to animals. Farmers care for their animals, many of whom have a huge history on their farms. Animals are born there and brought up there for years and there’s often a bloodline which lasts generations. That can all be wiped out in an instant with TB. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. The simple thing to say about TB is that we are never going to eradicate it unless we deal with all of the main sources of the disease. The main ones are badgers, cattle and deer. These are the main reservoirs that contribute to the spread of TB, and it can be truly devastating. Jeremy Clarkson's social media post last week On our farm we have our own TB testing being done next month. So far we have been clear of TB and never had it on the farm. But it’s always in the back of your mind and always a huge worry for myself and for all farmers. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling. I can only imagine what it’s like for farmers that get TB confirmed on their farms. It seems to be a case now of when and not if your farm is affected because we are seeing an increase. People can put out all the figures they want about badgers not being a main cause of the spread of TB but, frankly, that’s just not true. Are badgers the only factor? Certainly not, but they are certainly right up there as one of the main factors. I know of farmers that never had TB and they have a closed herd - livestock in which no new animals are introduced from external sources, with all being home raised. You could eat food off the yard in these farms, that’s how clean they are. The hygiene is top class. And yet some of them have gone down with TB. There is only one way that can happen and that is down to wildlife, and as farmers we are powerless to stop it. You can put things in place of course but it’s pretty much impossible to fence off an entire farm so that it’s ‘badger-proof’, and you can’t completely close off your sheds either because it restricts airflow and that’s how cattle end up with other conditions. I do all I can here on my farm but at the end of the day you can’t keep badgers out. We have badgers around here, but only some. It’s when the population grows and gets out of control that you have a real problem. It’s a big, big issue. The damage that TB can do to a farm is huge, and if the government really is serious about eradicating TB then it has to deal with all sources of where it comes from and spreads from. People get too emotionally attached, whereas in reality is the science is there with regards to badger culling and culling zones where TB has been reduced. You see it in other areas like Ireland where culling has been stopped and TB rates are on the rise, so the evidence is clearly there. I think some get confused about what people mean by a badger cull. Badger baiting is illegal and rightly so, but people are mixing up badger baiting with a badger cull. They are not the same thing. There is nothing more cruel than a badger dying of TB. When they die it’s a horrible death for them, and when people say badgers don’t contribute to the spread of TB they are just not being honest. Is there more that farmers can do? Yes. But the rise in the badger population is going to cost the farmer and it’s going to cost the taxpayer too. Even if a TB vaccine for cattle is brought in - which is an ongoing process being looked at - which would mean an end to culling of both cattle and badgers, what people still have to remember is that it won’t address other issues that a huge spike in the badger population can have. A growing population of badgers can mean a decline in hedgehogs, bumble bees, and a decline in ground nests. Again, badgers are not the only contributor to these problems but they are a contributor, a significant one, and some people seem to ignore that. We will never ever eradicate or even reduce Bovine TB if we only cull cattle. Some farmers will blame just the badger and say it’s nothing to do with cattle - again, people need to detach themselves emotionally and look at all the facts . Until we do that we’re just going around and around in circles. Jeremy Clarkson has again brought a major farming issue into the public spotlight, and that’s the harsh reality that all farmers face, so if you have sympathy for what is happening at Diddly Squat Farm then you should have sympathy for all farmers affected. When we have our testing for TB at the farm next month it will mean sleepless nights with a horrible stomach-churning feeling, because you just never know. There are so many challenges facing farmers these days, we could really do without the constant uncertainty brought about by the threat of TB.