Video: Dairy farmer who suffered bovine TB hell exits industry

A Pembrokeshire farmer has made the difficult decision to sell his dairy unit and leave farming after suffering at the hands of bovine TB.

Steve Evans, a fourth-generation farmer based near Haverfordwest, says his herd of 380 Holstein-Friesians has already left the farm.

New owners are due to take over in early October after Mr Evans decided to sell the farm, which has been in his family for almost 100 years.

See also: New Welsh bovine TB advisory group ‘a positive step forward’

Over the past 18 months, Mr Evans lost more than 240 cows, with his business haemorrhaging about £30,000 a month. He said the damage done by bovine TB was a major contributing factor in his decision to exit dairying.

“The impact of bovine TB on my mental health and to the finances of the business caused me to fall out of love with the industry I have adored since I was a young child,” he said.

“When you are dealing with a disease that you have so little control with in terms of management, as well as a lack of control we are dealing with in the dairy industry, it eventually takes its toll.”

Watch Mr Evans’ video where he reflects on his “gut-wrenching” decision to leave the industry.

Mental health impact

Mr Evans said the decision to leave dairying was made to protect both his and his family’s mental health and wellbeing, especially given the Welsh government’s “uninspiring” bovine TB eradication strategy.

The latest official quarterly figures for bovine TB show the number of TB-infected cattle slaughtered in Wales has risen to its highest levels since 2009.

There were 11,789 reactors slaughtered in Wales between July 2023 and June 2024 – a 24% increase year on year.

“I couldn’t see my way out this TB debacle,” said Mr Evans. “I decided to get out while we were able to make the decision.

“I have every respect for my fellow cattle farmers who are prepared to deal with the disease and continue farming. But for us, this was the right decision.”

TB policy difference

Mr Evans said cattle farmers in Wales were being “hamstrung” by the Welsh government’s TB policy, which was not using all the tools available to tackle the disease.

In comparison, he said the TB strategy in England had shown greater success using a comprehensive policy which included badger culling.

“The Welsh government is repeating failure and claiming their TB policy is a success,” he added.

“But I would argue we are doing the same failing strategy over and over again and expecting different results, which is pure insanity.”

Mr Evans had been running the dairy farm in partnership with his parents and his eldest son. 

Welsh government response

A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We are determined to eradicate bovine TB in Wales as set out in our five-year delivery plan.

“We recognise the anxiety that TB causes for farmers, farmworkers and their families and we continue to work with farming charities and others to learn how best to support farmers in response to hardships caused by TB.

“We will continue to work in partnership with the industry, including through the newly established Technical Advisory Group, that has already provided expert advice on specific topics resulting in two significant changes to our policy approach.”