Day 102 - 13 Mar 95 - Page 24
1 growers.
2
3 MS. STEEL: If you heard that conditions on a farm were unusual
4 or not up to scratch, would you make a point of going down
5 to visit that farm?
6 A. I might do; it would depend on the circumstances. It
7 depends what you mean by "up to scratch".
8
9 Q. Up to the standards that you say Sun Valley want to see.
10 A. Well, certainly, I mean, if it was something in my
11 specific area of responsibility, I would probably go. If
12 it was to do with building structure, design or
13 maintenance, then I probably would not.
14
15 Q. But you have never been to the place where they keep them
16 in the loft?
17 A. Yes, I have been to that farm in the past.
18
19 Q. You have not seen the catching?
20 A. I have not seen the catching.
21
22 Q. You did not think to ask about that?
23 A. I did not ask at the time.
24
25 Q. Was Gumboro disease more frequent or worse in the earth
26 floored sheds?
27 A. No, it was not. There was very little difference
28 between earth floors and concrete floors. It was more farm
29 related and it happened regardless of whether they were new
30 farms or old farms.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Which way did it work?
33 A. Well, it -----
34
35 Q. Not the floors, I suppose that is fairly obvious,
36 but -- I see. It was farm related, but was there any
37 particular feature which seemed to go with it?
38 A. No, we could never relate it to either building design,
39 building age, concrete or earth floors. In fact, there was
40 one farmer who had both concrete and earth floors on his
41 farm, and the Gumboro was actually in the newer house with
42 the concrete floor -- it was actually worse in the newer
43 house. It was rather frustrating that we could not
44 actually relate it to building design.
45
46 MS. STEEL: Managers do not have to be present, do they, during
47 catching?
48 A. The farm -- it is the farm manager's responsibility
49 ultimately to ensure that catching is done to the standards
50 required. They are not always present during the whole
51 time, but I think you will find that they are generally
52 around during the catching process.
53
54 Q. When you say "generally around", does that mean -- I mean,
55 the managers live on the farms, do they not?
56 A. They live on the site. They are generally available.
57 They usually go into the houses at the beginning of the
58 catch. They usually go back in at various stages during
59 the catch. It is their responsibility to sign the document
60 at the end that we referred to a little while ago, to say
