Lies and subterfuge in Ambridge - from a policeman? That's just not cricket! Discuss The Archers here.

[PseudoBadger]

Thank you R4 for the title.

Going back to Clarrie briefly, I'm confused about how many rooms they are letting. She was making porridge, eggs benedict and kedgeree, surely not just for two people?

Cowgate
I like it.

I agree Cowgate is spectacular drama. And surely has huge potential to rock village relations for years to come. Tony's already questioning David and Ruth's professionalism. Wait til he hears about Pip's part in the whole thing. And the amount of money he stands to lose - poor Tony. Plus then when Adam finds out as well, will he even want Pip with cows on the herbal leys given her slapdash approach first to maintenance and then to honesty. Pip may even have to leave the village for a while to let things die down while she works elsewhere.

What a pair of weasels Pip and Toebee are.

Both of them have suspect moral compasses.

It is simply not credible that Pip had forgotten all about the escaping cows until now.

Exactly choccy, it was only about 2 weeks ago. Oh well, I liked my Toby idea but doesn't look too likely does it?

Well it would be Machiavellian of him to convince pip not to confess and then dob her in himself!

This can not end well for her now she has so blatantly lie

Even worse, she didn't technically lie! When Ruth asked her if she knew about any broken fences she said 'ooh look, that cow looks lame...oh no it doesn't, got to go byeeeee'. She's just awful.

At least she had enough gumption to avoid answering awkward questions, unlike David and Ruth. It hasn't occurred to her that maybe Bridge Farm had IBR first and Brookfield picked it up when the cows were over there.

How contagious is this IBR? We often do 5-10 mile country walks which must cover the land of more than one farm. Are we spreading mayhem as we go? Footpaths were stopped during Foot and Mouth but I've never heard of anything stopped for IBR. In fact, I'd never heard of IBR before this storyline.

(Whispers) what is ibr?

Did Pip really mean it when she was saying that she had forgotten that the cows had got out? I thought she was being sarcastic when she mentioned it to Toby!

Enough bad things have happened at Bridge Farm. They should lay off Tony's herd.

Has to be said, BOOP for proper agricultural drama.

Well, with all her faults, at least Pip has some conscience, and wouldn't take Jill's money after all. Just as well for her if Adam's herd is now incubating IBR, if she'd got some stock it might come full circle to her.

But now she has started putting two and two together, she really should warn Adam.

What a piece of work Pip is.

I am just popping in to say how brilliant cow gate is. I love this storyline. Proper Archers.

What a piece of work Ruth is as well. She knows perfectly well why Pip has no money.

It hasn't occurred to her that maybe Bridge Farm had IBR first and Brookfield picked it up when the cows were over there.

It's not realistically likely, is it, given that Brookfield is known to have bought non-IBR certified cattle, and their cattle got ill first?

Is it possible that Adam's cattle will also be infected given that Ed shoved a few stray Brookfield beasts in a Home Farm field?

I would say so mootsie

Is anyone else watching Big Little Lies? They are doing a superb job depicting an abusive marriage.

Do farmers have insurance for this kind of thing? I mean Tony and Adam more than Brookfield as they bought the cows without certs

It's not realistically likely, is it, given that Brookfield is known to have bought non-IBR certified cattle, and their cattle got ill first?

Brookfield bought their cattle about a year ago and they have been quite happy up til now ish (must admit I can't remember if drop off in yields was before or after the escape) . 'Non-certified' cattle is not the same as 'definitely infected' cattle. Similarly, 'certified when I bought them' cattle are not the same as 'definitely haven't got it at the moment' cattle, they could have subsequently caught it off the wellies of a visiting rep.

Livestock escaping used to be a common storyline and we never had these hysterics about bio-security. Is this some new disease? Calling DFW ...

I know my father was glad he'd paid out for foot&mouth insurance in the past, and even more glad we never actually needed it. So it's presumably available for other diseases (and I don't know if it was just f&m or more general, for any sort of disease which would involve culling,) but a lot of farmers probably won't pay the extra - either just can't afford it (Ed never replaced his herd after it was stolen, which I guess would be a more likely scenario,) or decide to focus on biosecurity, which you should be doing in any case, to minimise the risks, so are less likely to ever claim. Unless your neighbours are slack - and livestock does escape from time to time.

Maybe the NFU website would say?

IBR was first identified in the USA in the 1950s, but was probably around longer. It's a herpes virus, and like human herpes, can remain dormant in the body and flare up in times of stress, including calving. I don't know about the history of herpes knowledge to know if it was a new disease then or if it was just the first time veterinary /medical science had advanced enough to be able to diagnose it more acurately than "respiratory disease". It can be very contagious. <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.iowabeefcenter.org/bch/Rhinotracheitis.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjBy8H40_jSAhWFC8AKHesqAIQQFggeMAI&usg=AFQjCNFiemw8dECvy4jfNWctSPRNpa6TGw&sig2=D50tYNo3OHSVx5pD-0DWQw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">US doc on IBR

A quick Google shows there are various insurance companies offering livestock insurance, but the diseases listed are more things like f&m, TB, anthrax - not IBR. But I'm not going to read the details to find out more, because I have to go to work.