THE SAD tale of a farmer's son who is distraught when his favourite calf is sent to slaughter after a TB test is the subject of a film being made on a Westcountry farm.

Young film-maker William McGregor, 22, is shooting on his uncle's farm near Totnes, South Devon, to create a short film called Bovine which he hopes will bring the emotional anguish which farmers suffer through the prolific disease to an audience outside rural communities.

Mr McGregor, who grew up on a pig farm in Norfolk, raised money towards the £10,000 budget from sources including Mole Valley Farmers and Dairy Crest.

He conceived the idea when he went to university, and realised that many urban dwellers had little understanding of the bond between a farmer and his animals.

Speaking from the film set – a field near the Preston Barton farmhouse – yesterday, he said: "I wanted to give an insight into farming, and the rural way of living. I think a lot of people are still quite ignorant about where their food comes from, and how that's linked to animal husbandry and the stewardship of the countryside."

Mr McGregor, who has had regular holidays at the farm since he was a boy, said the tale was a "coming of age" story for the young character in his film, and contrasted his sensitivities to the more hardened approach of his father.

The plot of the film overlaps with reality at the farm. Owner Andrew Dayment has had 29 cows put down since last October, reducing his milk yield by a quarter.

But yesterday, both the family and the film crew celebrated when a visit from the Government-appointed vet left the farm certified TB-free.

Mr Dayment, 47, said he related to the father in the film, having had to face up to losing so many cows in recent months.

"You feel something in your chest when they're loaded up into the lorry, and you know there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "You can be losing whole families which you have raised from calves. Of course, it can be emotional."

In the film, the father is played by Totnes-based actor John Parker, who was once a dairy farmer on Exmoor. He quit in 1987, but remembers the tensions attached to regular testing.

He said: "We were lucky in that we never lost cows to TB, but we did for other reasons, and it's so upsetting to see them taken away – or worse, when they are shot on the farm in front of you.

"Sadly, I think the farmer's story is not often told. Farmers don't get a very good press a lot of the time, and people in urban areas often don't have a very informed view."

The son, James, is played by 12-year-old Freddie Davies, from Paignton, who was selected through auditions at his school, Dartmoor Community College.

He said yesterday: "My character is a bit stubborn, but that suits me. He has to come to terms with his calf being killed."

To keep up with the progress of filming, visit www.bovineonline.co.uk