The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has expressed its disappointment at some of the missed opportunities in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, as it progressed through it’s penultimate scrutiny stage on Tuesday 16 May.

Representatives of the FUW were in the gallery to watch Senedd Members debate amendments tabled on economic viability, support for new entrants and energy efficiency.

The landmark legislation will provide the framework for future agriculture support in Wales and is the first time Wales will have legislated in this way. The FUW has maintained since the introduction of the bill that the absence of economic viability of agricultural businesses and family farms from the Sustainable Land Management objectives is a significant concern.

“The Agriculture (Wales) Bill must support the next generation of farmers” - that was the key message from the Farmers’ Union of Wales Younger Voice for Farming committee chair, Gemma Haines, at a meeting with local Members of the Senedd.

Welcoming Sarah Murphy, MS for Bridgend, and Huw Irranca-Davies, MS for Ogmore, to her farm, Gemma stressed that it was disappointing that there is still no explicit mention of support for young/new entrants in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

“Whilst there is an opposition amendment tabled at Stage 3 which would correct this, and the FUW has lobbied for this to happen since the introduction of the Bill, support for tenants, new entrants and common land graziers are also missing from the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposals. We urgently need to correct this so that these new policies support the next generation of farmers,” said Gemma Haines.

Mrs Haines added that it was encouraging to see that as part of the ongoing co-design, working groups have been set up on each of these areas.

“We hope the outcomes of the groups will be reflected in the final consultation expected later this year,” she said.

Union officials further stressed that the Universal Actions and SFS contract length must be achievable (or flexible enough) and proportionate for all farming systems and regions (including tenants and commoners), with a high enough associated baseline payment to ensure a critical mass of farmers are able to access the scheme.

Carmarthenshire hill sheep farmer Ian Rickman has been re-elected the Farmers’ Union of Wales Deputy President at its recent Grand Council meeting in Aberystwyth.

Ian is a past county chairman of the FUW in Carmarthenshire, and has previously held the position of chairman of the hill farming and marginal land committee.

He was elected as Deputy President of the FUW in 2019 and has worked tirelessly to represent the Union and its members at a variety of Welsh Government meetings, at farm visits with MPs and AMs highlighting why #FarmingMatters.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has written to congratulate the newly appointed UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and set out the immediate and longer term concerns for Welsh agriculture and rural areas.

The long drawn-out campaign against former Chancellor Rishi Sunak concluded yesterday (5 September) with Ms Truss being appointed by a margin of 81,326 votes to 60,399.

In his letter to the new Prime Minister, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “On behalf of the FUW, I would like to congratulate you on your successful campaign and on having been appointed as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Farmers' Union of Wales has repeated its call for the establishment of an industry Task and Finish Group to examine both Informed Purchasing and the future of TB Cattle Compensation payments following the publication of the Minister for Rural Affairs' statement on the TB eradication programme earlier today.

Amongst the new TB plans outlined in the statement are policies which could see the use of lay testers for TB testing, the provision of mandatory TB information at point-of-sale and significant changes to the way in which TB compensation is paid.

Dr Hazel Wright, FUW Senior Policy Officer, said:

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) is looking forward to a busy week discussing the most critical farming matters at the Royal Welsh Show (Monday 18-Thursday 21 July 2022), which is taking place in person in Llanelwedd following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Speaking ahead of the show, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: