Environment Secretary promises to tackle bovine TB

Ms Truss visited Court Calmore, a dairy and beef farm near Montgomery, to support Conservative parliamentary candidate for the region, Glyn Davies.

She met with farmer Maurice Jones, who owns the farm, and neighbour Keith Davies, who has recently retired from the industry.

Ms Truss vowed to do all she could to help farmers tackle the disease should the Conservative Party stay in government after the General Election on May 7.

She said: "It is absolutely vital that we do all we can to tackle this horrendous problem and I vow to do all I can to eradicate it.

"The country which has managed to get rid of it is Australia and they have done it by culling. Glyn Davies, who has done a magnificent job as Montgomeryshire MP for the last five years, keeps pressing me on this and as a former farmer he really knows how vital it is we tackle it.

"It is a threat to the dairy and beef industry and it was excellent to meet these farmers in Mid Wales."

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Mr Jones said he was delighted to be reassured by Ms Truss. "The coalition has done a good job on this for us farmers," he said. "Liz knows what a threat it is to our livelihoods and if she gets back in she will press on with the culls.

"It is a massive problem that has no borders and affects all of us in Powys and Shropshire. Unless something is done it could harm the industry for years to come."

Keith Davies added: "Liz and Owen Paterson before her have taken a strong stance on this and I hope this continues."

Russell George, Montgomeryshire AM and shadow agricultural spokesman in the Welsh Assembly, added: "The badgers are not the problem, the disease is and we must tackle that. The Conservative Party has been strong on this in London and I keep pushing for it in Cardiff."

Glyn Davies said he was delighted to welcome Ms Truss to Mid Wales, adding: "I will keep pressing her to look after our farmers and I know she will do that."

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