Cost and responsibility-sharing talks suspended

TALKS on cost and responsibility sharing have been postponed but the issue has 'definitely not gone away', NFU head of food and farming Kevin Pearce told the NFU council this week.

He said the consultation due for September had been suspended while the current disease crisis was taking up so much time and resources.

But there will come a time when talks will resume and he stressed it was in farmers' interests to continue pushing for shared responsibility for disease alongside a greater share of the costs.

Richard Betton, North Riding and Durham council representative, summarised the views of many farmers when he suggested the NFU should refuse to enter into talks until 'the polluter pays in full' for the damage caused by the Pirbright foot-and-mouth leak.