BY the time this article is read I hope that the weather will be more springlike as at the moment storms are battering the countryside.

Lambing is supposed to start towards the end of the month but a few have already arrived thanks to some uncut male lambs wandering the open mountain in late summer.

Sodden fields are also hampering fencing work under the Tir Gofal scheme where access to the work is difficult.

A meeting of the Merioneth Farming Connect discussion group run by Eryl Roberts hosted Professor Mathew Baylis, chairman of veterinary epidemiology at the University of Liverpool, who has researched bluetongue disease over the world for several years. Lately he is involved with the present outbreak in this country and how it can be controlled. He was accompanied by Hannah Parkin and David Sugden who are student vets.

Professor Baylis was responsible for the two trials where midges were trapped on four farms in the Bala area during 2007, the first of which was carried out by Hannah Parkin.

With 80 cases of bluetongue disease so far in Britain, large sections of England are in Surveillance and Protection Zones where the movement of stock is controlled.

Wales is so far not under any controls, and movement from the PZ is allowed after testing but this about to cease when the so-called Vector Free period comes to an end. This is the period when the midges which transmit BT disease are not active.

The year 2008 does not bode well for this country as it is highly likely that the disease has overwintered and will start spreading when the weather warms up.

Bluetongue disease can have devastating consequences on livestock with sheep faring the worst. On the Continent, millions of sheep have been lost to the disease over the years with numbers rising yearly so it not surprising that the British government through DEFRA has ordered 20 million doses of BT vaccine for use in England.

Vaccination will begin in the Protection Zone where the disease is most likely to re-emerge this spring. The aim is to vaccinate to the Surveillance Zone boundary.

In Wales, 2.5 million doses of vaccine have been ordered. As there is currently no Protection Zone in Wales, it is unclear how vaccination would proceed.

Vaccination will be voluntary as a compulsory scheme would involve vets to supervise vaccination and the bureaucracy which would go with it, leading to long delays in its application.

The only drawback with a voluntary scheme is that there would be no EU funding with farmers bearing the cost which would vary from 55p to £1, plus whatever mark-up there will be from the vets as it is a prescription-only medicine.

To be effective at least 80 per cent of susceptible animals need to be vaccinated in order for the strategy to be effective.

In sheep, the primary course of vaccination will consist of one dose. In cattle, it will consist of two doses given three to four weeks apart. Single annual booster vaccination will be required to maintain immunity.

The ideal time for vaccination in sheep would be prior to lambing where immunity would be passed on to the lamb but this year availability prevents this.

With vaccination voluntary, it will be up to the individual farmer whether to protect his stock or not. Potential losses through the disease would be financially crippling as there is no compensation.

Professor Baylis' next trials will be carried out in the Bala area in early summer and will involve an area 6km square split into 1km squares.

On farm will be selected from each of the 36 squares where midges will be trapped for a couple of days.

The diversity found in the area should provide results which could provide a risk factor to different areas.

This is another shadow hanging over the livestock industry and the hope is that it can tackled.