Farm plagued by sickness

Overlooking the broadest stretch of the River Shannon deep, Justin and Suzanne Ryan could hardly have a more scenic location for their 85- acre dairy farm, writes Alan Murdoch.

Only minutes away, past a forest park and long lanes with thick hedgerows, coachloads of tourists stop and marvel at nearby Adare's fairytale thatched cottages and multi-coloured summer gardens, a vision of clean Irish country living.

The same once applied on the Ryan farm. Through the 1980s their Friesian herd never lost a single adult cow to sickness. A 1981 study showed local animal health good, milk yields buoyant and bovine mortality below average.

"That whole picture has been overturned," says Mr Ryan in the front room of his modern farmhouse. Since 1988, ever larger numbers of animals on local farms have been dying in circumstances that have left local vets bewildered.

Cows developed fever and mastitis after calving. Some died shortly before they were due to give birth. Others failed to produce milk. Since 1990, 49 cows have died mysteriously. Several first went lame in all four legs.

Vets tried mineral supplements but, despite this, problems worsened. "You could see the animals deteriorating rapidly," said Mr Ryan. After 25 years of dairy farming, he was struck by unusual cattle behaviour: "For a full month from mid- October last you couldn't find a lick mark on any animal," he said, citing a normally-constant bovine habit. Extensive hair loss prompted cows to scratch themselves against fences until they bled.

Still-births, abortions and extended labour increased. Cows that previously gave birth after 36 hours labour now agonised for 100 hours, forcing Caesarean births.

Autopsies showed severe lesions of the lung and gut. The 45 cows that were left all but stopped coming into heat. "If at all, it was just for half an hour," said Mr Ryan. "The bull would want to be quick to spot them," his wife adds wryly.

Like other farmers, the Ryans saw a dramatic rise in previously rare twin births. Illness also hit newer animals. Of seven top-priced replacement heifers bought last year, only four survived the winter.

Wildlife also seems affected. "Foxes came into the yard all last winter, dying," Mrs Ryan recalls. "There was obviously something wrong. You clapped and they didn't move."

Two of the Ryans' four children also became ill. Alex, the youngest, now almost three, developed rashes all over his body, with one eye inflamed and badly swollen. A specialist was baffled. Both Alex and his brother, Eric, who developed blistered arms and legs, quickly recovered after the family switched from drinking the farm's own milk.

The Golden Vale dairy group stopped using the Ryans's reduced milk ouput on health grounds in March, while still paying for it.

Mr Ryan's family have worked the same land for 200 years. He is resigned to having no future in Askeaton, his only hope is selling up and moving to another, safer, piece of land.