Farmer quits industry over soaring costs

A Shropshire farmer says the worry over spiralling costs and tuberculosis testing for cows has forced him to give up dairy farming.

It is the latest indication that the credit crunch is biting in the county and a new blow for farmers.

The credit crunch means that feed and energy costs have soared for farmers and John and Eileen Gittins from Morda, near Oswestry, say they fear for the future.

They say while they have not been affected by TB testing, they feel as if they are sitting on a timebomb.

Half a century of family farming will comes to an end on Friday when the couple hold a sale at Nant Farm, Morda.

The Gittins family's herd of milking cows has come in the top 10 for production at a national dairy awards for the past three years. But their 89 Holstein Friescows heifers and calves will go under the hammer on Friday.

Mr Gittins, 59, took over the 60-acre dairy farm from his parents, John and Hilda, in 1981 and had been selling his milk to Wiseman Dairy for the past 13 years.

"Farming is the only thing that I've ever known and we are proud to have provided food to the British nation and done the best we can," said Mr Gittins.

"The current milk price is good but everything else is going up and I don't know what the future holds. The TB situation is ridiculous. We have never had a case of TB on the farm but it's like sitting on a timebomb."

He said he hoped there would still be opportunities for young farmers to enter the industry.

The dispersal sale is being conducted by Shrewsbury-based-auctioneers Halls.