By unlocking the export potential China offers the pig industry, not to mention the red meat sector as a whole, we could gain entry into a marketplace which comprises a fifth of the world’s population.Cow muck saves farmer from snow death
A THICK layer of cow muck saved a Scottish farmer from certain death yesterday after the roof of his barn, weighed down with several feet of snow, collapsed on top of him.
Willie Auchnie, who manages a farm in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, noticed his cow shed – home to 200 cattle and 200 calves – was about to buckle under the weight of snow last night.
But after he had rescued the cattle in the nick of time, the roof collapsed leaving him trapped under tonnes of rubble.
Miraculously he escaped serious injury thanks to the cushioning of a foot of cow dung which lined the concrete floor. Malcolm Hay, the farm’s owner, was joined by a farm worker and a gamekeeper and together they dug for more than 30 minutes before they retrieved Mr Auchnie from the wreckage.
Mr Hay said: “He is the luckiest man alive. It is unbelievable he is still alive. We thought we had lost him. I think he was saved by the muck.”
Mr Auchnie was recovering from his injuries at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin last night.
The National Beef Association has since raised concerns about collapsed cattle sheds across Scotland.
The Association has appealed to Richard Lochhead, the Scottish cabinet secretary, for a national emergency fund to help farmers limit snow damage to their buildings and protect animals that have been turfed out into the cold.
“Mr Lochhead is aware of the urgent nature of the situation created on many farms and the very real dangers faced by stock that is suddenly without shelter,” said NBA director, Kim Haywood.
“Damage caused by natural disasters like flood and drought regularly qualify for emergency relief and the Association has asked Mr Lochhead to take advantage of his position as cabinet secretary and secure the release of some of the Scottish Government’s adversity funds to cover extreme snow damage,” she added.
Related images
Farmers Guardian newsletters
Get the best of Farmers Guardian delivered straight to your inbox. Click here to sign-up today
-
General news and breaking news alerts
Minimum weekly delivery -
Livestock, arable, dairy and young farmers
news and features
Monthly delivery
Readers' comments (7)
Anonymous | 8 January 2010 3:01 pm
At every opportunity people want hand outs. Here's a way of protecting buildings from snow damage - get out there and clear it you lazy gits.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 8 January 2010 3:38 pm
Lazy Gits? I don't think comments like that help anyone. Perhaps you would like to go out to where there have been 26inches of snow which is drifting. A lot of these places have one man working on them and the snow lies a lot quicker than one man can feed stock, clear roads, defrost pipes to water stock as well as the other daily routines. Do you expect someone to get up on the roof and shovel it all off in the middle of a blizzard?
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 9 January 2010 9:53 pm
Not only do we not have time to clear the snow, its also highly dangerous. Far morepeople would be hurt or killed if we tried climbing on roofs to clear snow. Professional roofing contractors with full safety gear like ropes, harnesess and scaffolding wouldn't go up if it was frosty let alone in a blizzard with afoot and a half of snow covering the roof!!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 13 January 2010 1:10 pm
lesson for all here , when getting your quotes in for roofs make sure they are sturdy to protect you from this . mind when looking at most farm buildings they are all about to fall down as so little investestment in them . mind you the insurance payout will come in handy lol
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 14 January 2010 10:25 pm
Firstly, well said to those defending the hard working farmers who do not have the time or equipment to climb up on roofs to clear off a foot or more of snow. Most are pushed for enough hours in the day to do the necessary, let alone anything else. Secondly, there is 'so little investment' in farm buildings as there's 'so little investment' in agriculture in the UK. What other industry needs a payment system, such as Single Farm Payment, just to survive? And all the while, the rest of you are content in your 9-5 jobs, with your guaranteed wage at the end of the week, and your unrealistically cheap supermarket steak, sit on here and tell farmers to get out there and do yet another thankless task. I think not.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
Anonymous | 15 January 2010 5:34 pm
With 25% of British farming families living on or below the poverty line it is easy to see how "investment" gets neglected!
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment
davie | 20 January 2010 7:13 pm
When temperatures drop to -20 farming becomes harder than normal. How does the original person who commented on this article suggest we clear the roofs of our sheds while we have twice the amount of work to do in a day? An inch of snow on the roads and they grind to a halt. Try getting feed and water to out wintered cattle in snow well past your knees.
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment