Yet another plan for tackling TB was announced this week.

This is the umpteenth TB plan presented by the umpteenth Minister for Agriculture in Ireland’s 70-year battle with the disease.

Does anyone really believe that the programme announced by the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon can be successful?

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Well, it all depends on the definition of success.

Minister Heydon has been wise enough not to set a time-frame for eradicating TB.

Indeed, there was little mention of eradication in the press statement.

Instead, Minister Heydon talks of tackling “the current TB situation”.

The overall figures for TB in December were an improvement on 2024; but then 2024 was such an annus horribilis that the stats couldn’t have gotten any worse.

We now appear to be at the top of the curve in terms of the overall spread of the disease and the figures for reactors might have tailed off slightly in normal circumstances. Will farmers take the pain? They will, if there is a reasonable chance that it is worthwhile.

Ironically, however, the Department of Agriculture has conceded that the greater adoption of blood testing in the latest TB programme could see reactor numbers surge to 60,000 over the next two years.

That’s a sizeable jump from the 37,700 recorded last year, and it is likely to pile a wagon load of grief and disruption on those families impacted.

Will farmers take the pain?

They will, if there is a reasonable chance that it is worthwhile.

There are really positive elements to the Heydon plan. The switch to a pre-movement test for dairy cows moving into a breeding herd – rather than a post-movement test – is a commonsense change.

Similarly, the increased testing around contract-rearing herds is justified.

The categorisation of herds for trading purposes is an emotive issue but one that could have a real impact given the high level of movements through marts in Ireland.

A similar risk-based trading approach was adopted by Australia in their successful campaign to eradicate the disease.

Although, the Aussies don’t have the same level of trading as Ireland, their take on livestock sales was indicative of a single-minded and ruthless approach to the disease full-stop – from testing to culling cattle and wildlife.

What would success in the TB battle look like?

Time will tell if Heydon’s initiative will put TB back on its heels.

It’s unfortunate that some move wasn’t made on cattle valuations or that the focus on tackling the disease in the cattle herd wasn’t matched by a plan to tackle the wildlife side of the equation as comprehensively.

What would success in the TB battle look like?

Getting the herd incidence back down under 4% from the current 5.77% must be an immediate goal.

If we could hit under 3% then maybe, just maybe, we could dream of TB eradication.