A leading Cumbrian auctioneer, says 2007 was a write-off,” Adam Day spoke of the plight farmers face as they continue to recover from restrictions imposed during the foot and mouth outbreak and blue tongue disease.

Mr Day, also said: “The back end half of the year since August has been a disaster. There is no other word for it.

“Foot and mouth in August stopped farmers and us trading. It should have been our best time of year.

“Between August and October we sell a lot of lambs and sheep. We call it the Harvest of the Fells. But we were completely shut down through August.”

Auctioneer John Uffold of McCartney’s Ludlow market in Shropshire said Foot and Mouth made beef marketing diffcult. “There was a buoyant demand for prime cattle until we hit August, but now there’s lots of work to do to win back our exports to the level we need.

Posted: 12|28|07 at 9:20 am. Filed under: UK News.