BBC South West's Rural Affairs Correspondent, Simon Hall, takes a look back at the year that will be remembered
for foot-and-mouth |  | An all too familiar sight over the past few months |
| Monday the 10th of September starts a very important countdown for the farming industry in Devon. It is one week until the 17th of September, that vital date which marks three months since the last outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the county.
 | Rural Affairs Correspondent Simon Hall at this year's Devon County Show |
The date has great significance. It was three months without an outbreak which, in those days when the epidemic seemed to be coming to an end, the National Farmers' Union and vets and farmers themselves felt would mean the disease was beaten here.
So it will be a highly symbolic milestone. And it was thought it would mean the official conferring of foot-and-mouth free status on Devon, with important implications for farmers' freedom to move and sell livestock outside of the county.
I say 'it was thought', for problems have emerged. Here in the far southern end of England we only have to look north to see why: In Northumberland they had passed the
three-months-without-a-case milestone. Then came disaster. Another outbreak, followed by another series of cases. It is that which has filled farmers and the government with fear.
 | The army were called in to help out at the height of the outbreak |
This particular strain of foot-and-mouth which defied all predictions about how it could be controlled and how long it would last, continues to defy expectations with its hardiness and longevity.
At the moment, vets are testing flocks within a 10km radius of outbreaks. No sign of new disease has been found. All looked to be proceeding well to the 17th and the official declaration of freedom. Now we hear the government feels it may be prudent to test ALL flocks in Devon before the county can be freed of restrictions.
 | Movement restrictions caused lots of problems for sheep and lambs |
That will have a devastating effect on farmers as they are stopped from selling animals outside of Devon. Apart from the obvious financial consequences, there are likely to be terrible animal welfare implications as farmers run out of food and shelter as the winter weather is unleashed. How can we forget the deeply upsetting pictures of new born lambs trapped in muddy fields by movement restrictions in the early days of foot-and-mouth?
This could be worse. Beyond all this lies the realisation that foot-and-mouth has not been defeated. Indeed, given what's happening in Cumbria and Northumberland, with new outbreaks almost daily, we can even say it is well and truly alive. Thankfully, not here in the south west, it seems, but we continue to hold out breath.
Personally, I never want to go through another six months of endless piles of carcasses and tearful farmers as I did after the outbreak here in Devon in February. And that is just my experience as an observer. What the farmers themselves, and the related industries, the tourist trade, and all the other businesses and people that foot-and-mouth touched went through, I can hardly begin to comprehend.
So we continue to watch and wait. And we hope next Monday will pass without any new cases, that it continues that way, that Devon is declared foot-and-mouth free, that the movement restrictions are lifted and the farming industry finally returns to a long awaited normality.
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