Jacob Anthony: Close footpaths to stop coronavirus spread

These are very worrying and unprecedented times for the whole country. It’s almost surreal; all the fear, daily virus updates and empty shelves seems likes part of a horror movie.

The fields on some of the highest ground we farm afford a panoramic view, part of which encompasses the usually incredibly busy M4 corridor.

However, these past few days paint a very different picture – the hugely diminished volume of traffic is similar to that on Christmas Day.

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Unfortunately, this is not echoed on the footpaths. Even after Boris’s lockdown, we are still having foot traffic through our farmland.

Now the schools have closed their doors to most pupils, we have had parents trespassing by bringing their children to play in our fields on pushbikes and even motorbikes.

In the next field, we have ewes with new-born lambs. Just beyond them are heavily pregnant ewes, all easily frightened.

I understand that part of the government’s statement was to exercise once a day. But it is ludicrous for the public to then head to private farms the length and breadth of the country to enjoy a moment of fresh air.

Many of us livestock farmers are lambing at the moment. We are functioning on very little sleep, some of us with less help than usual.

Most of us also have a fear of picking up the virus, not just because of the health implications, but for the sake of animal welfare. If all the family contract it, who will feed and water the livestock?

I find it astounding that the government has not closed public footpaths through farmland. We are classed as ‘key workers’, yet they are prepared to take the risk of us coming into contact with potential Covid-19 carriers. No farmers, no food.

It would be far better to implement restrictions on public rights of way sooner rather than later. This will not only protect the health of those that are trying to feed the nation, it will decrease the risk of panic if a large proportion of farmers are taken out of action. We do not want to become the users of resources, we want to be providing them.

We cannot control the situation that is going on in the country, no one can. But, to a certain extent, we should be allowed the powers to be able to limit the risk.

We cannot self-isolate on our sofas, we have a nation that is relying on us, just as it always has.

As dark as the weeks ahead are likely to be, it is crucial for us, as an industry, to stand strong together. In a world of uncertainty, one thing is certain – people will need food, and farmers must continue to produce it.