[caption id="attachment_5917" align="aligncenter" width="300"] (l-r) FUW president Glyn Roberts, FUW Montgomeryshire county chairman Mark Williams, FUW deputy county chairman Alwyn Vaughan, Brian Jones, FUW member Rob Corfield, Kay Swinburne MEP, FUW vice president Eifion Huws, FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Rhydian Owen and FUW senior policy officer Dr Hazel Wright.[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has met with Conservative MEP Kay Swinburne to discuss the problems currently faced by Welsh dairy producers in a bid to send a strong message straight to Brussels. 

The meeting was held at FUW member Brian K Jones’s farm at Cefncoed Farms, Coed y Parc, Caersws, Newtown, who runs a 210 acre dairy farm with his wife Susan and son Andrew. 

The couple have recently had their milk supply contract cancelled and were keen to drive a strong message straight to Brussels about the dire situation many Welsh family run dairy farmers find themselves in.  

Brian, who sits on the FUW milk and dairy produce committee as the Montgomeryshire delegate, said: “The current situation faced by many Welsh dairy farmers is unacceptable and further action needs to be taken to address the problems facing family farms which are under real threat.” 

He also took the opportunity to highlight the difficulties facing farmers such as himself whose contracts had been cancelled by Meadow Foods. 

“Meadow Foods told the Farmers Weekly last week (November 20) that the company has ‘no plans to tear up contracts’, but that’s exactly what they have done to a number of us in this area.”

Brian said he and others in the area were written to in June. The letter stated. 

“…Meadow Foods has been reviewing all areas of our operation to identify where costs can be reduced and milk price improved. A key area of this review has been milk transport costs. We have identified a small number of producers who are located in outlying areas and therefore have a significant increased cost to collect; unfortunately your farm sits within this group. We have looked at various ways of reducing these costs to no success. Therefore, with regret, we have taken the decision to hereby serve you notice on your milk supply contract with Meadow Foods...” 

“Because I am a tenant farmer, losing this contract at a time when nobody is taking on new producers means that we are now looking at losing the roof over our heads.  

“It also means that my son, who works on the farm, will lose his job and his livelihood. If this continues there will be real problems for the industry.” 

FUW vice president Eifion Huws, said: “These are very uncertain times for the dairy industry and this year we have experienced market volatility like we haven’t seen in a long time.

“Not only are our farmers struggling with low milk prices, which are notably below the cost of production, they are now also being forced out of the industry because companies like Meadow Foods can’t find a way of collecting milk.” 

FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Rhydian Owen said: “We are thankful to Kay Swinburne for taking the time to hear the FUW’s concerns and the particular issues affecting tenanted family farms such as Coed y Parc.”

[caption id="attachment_5936" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Ten-year-old Nia Jones, a pupil at Ysgol Glannau Gwaun, Fishguard receives her prize from FUW deputy president Brian Thomas.[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales president’s chosen charity – British Heart Foundation Cymru – is a winner thanks to a national children’s competition organised by the union to design a Christmas card with a farming theme which attracted hundreds of entries.

The winner of this year’s competition was ten-year-old Nia Jones, a pupil at Ysgol Glannau Gwaun, Fishguard, whose winning picture shows a red robin watching a farmer drive his tractor through a ploughed field.

Nia wins a £30 gift voucher for herself, a packet of the cards depicting her design and a £50 cheque for Ysgol Glannau Gwaun.

A selection of cards will form a colourful centrepiece to the FUW’s stand at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on November 30 and December 1, where the public will be able to purchase the winners’ cards in packs of 10 for £5 with the proceeds going to BHF Cymru.

The cards are also available to buy from FUW county offices throughout Wales or by mail order from the union’s head office in Aberystwyth.

FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “The competition was a roaring success, attracting hundreds of entries from across Wales.

“I would like to thank every single child who entered the competition and to tell them that without their participation the contest would not have been such a success. I would also like to express my gratitude to the staff at the schools up and down the country that assisted the FUW in the running of the competition.

“It gave children in urban and rural areas of Wales an opportunity to connect with the farming industry and express their thoughts in a creative and colourful way. I believe it is vital that we as farmers maintain a strong link with young people so that they understand the way that food is produced in this country.”

The Insurance arm of the Farmers’ Union of Wales is today reminding its customers to be aware of the cost of burst pipes, as the cold weather approaches.

The reminder follows the launch of the ‘Wrap Up Wales’ campaign by D?r Cymru Welsh Water, who say that unprotected water pipes, which could burst after freezing weather conditions , could cost thousands of pounds to repair.

D?r Cymru Welsh Water have said that the problem is usually linked to pipes that are exposed to very low temperatures, such as those in garages, sheds and other outhouses and can of course be found aplenty on farms.

“Burst pipes can be very expensive to fix, not just on farm but also in the home and we urge our customers to follow the advice provided by D?r Cymru Welsh Water to ensure that they don’t have to go through the hassle of dealing with burst pipes,” said FUW managing director Mark Roberts.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), severe cold weather experienced during the winter of 2010 saw around 3,500 calls a day being made to insurers to report frozen pipes at its peak. An average repair cost for damage caused by bursts pipes can be up to £7,000.

FUW Insurance and D?r Cymru Welsh Water would advise the following to prevent pipes from freezing:
• Make sure you know the location of your stop tap so you can reach it quickly in an emergency (TIP: It's often under the kitchen sink).
• Make sure any exposed pipes are wrapped or lagged.
• Keep an eye out for frozen pipes, bursts or leaks.
• Fix dripping taps – a gentle trickle of water can freeze and completely block the pipe

In the event of pipes freezing the advice issued is:

• Find your internal stop tap and turn it off.
• Turn on nearby cold taps, to allow the water to escape when it thaws.
• Don't turn hot taps on until the central heating is switched off.
• Move things that might be damaged if the pipe bursts when the water thaws.
• Apply a hot water bottle or hot wet towel to a frozen pipe.
• If you notice a leak after thawing, turn off the internal stop tap and call a plumber.
• If you are unsure of anything at any time call a plumber who is registered with the WaterSafe scheme at www.watersafe.org.uk

D?r Cymru Welsh Water are asking customer to take the Wrap Up Wales test at www.WrapUpWales.com and can get themselves a free lagging kit.

Advice on insulating water pipes can be seen on the Welsh Water website http://www.dwrcymru.com/en/My-Water/Prepare-your-home-for-winter.aspx

[caption id="attachment_5897" align="aligncenter" width="300"] FUW Denbigh chairman John Roberts and FUW Denbigh president Iwan Jones with HCC's Industry and Market Information Officer John Richards, Owain Bebb a’i gwmni accountant Rhys Harris, Eifion Bibby of Davis Meade and Director of Padog Farms Ltd Dafydd Wynne Finch.[/caption]

Denbighshire members of the Farmers’ Union of Wales came together at a recent annual general meeting to discuss EU membership, young entrants and the Finance Act 2015.

The event, which was held at the Brookhouse Mill on Monday November 9, welcomed Director of Padog Farms Ltd Dafydd Wynne Finch, Owain Bebb a’i gwmni accountant Rhys Harris, Eifion Bibby of Davis Meade and HCC's Industry and Market Information Officer John Richards as their guest speakers.

“Despite the poor weather many of our members attended and held interesting and varied discussion. It was nice to hear plenty of questions being asked by members, which ranged from are we better in or out of EU to a question about how do we get young farmers back into the industry,” said FUW Denbigh and Flintshire county executive officer Mari Dafydd Jones.

EU membership is a topic the FUW is quite clear on, having long recognised the value of remaining a part of one of the largest common markets and trading blocks in the world, and the irreparable damage caused to farm and food businesses as a result of our exclusion from the EU market during the BSE and Foot and Mouth disease crises stand as testament to the dangers of being locked out of Europe.

“We know that there are plenty of young enthusiastic people who wish to enter the industry and we also know that there are those looking at the future of their farms who don’t necessarily want to relinquish everything, so it was good to discuss succession with our members in an open format,” she added.

Mr Finch focused his presentation on how important discussion groups are in developing the industry through upskilling people and sharing information and he also discussed the topic of succession. Lamb prices and HCC marketing strategies and Europe were discussed by John Richards; Mr Harris gave a presentation on the Finance Act 2015 and discussed 10 main points including changes to capital allowances and averaging profits and Mr Bibby talked about buying and renting land, the Renting Homes (Wales) bill and the trading of entitlements.

“I would like to thank the speakers and members for attending a very successful evening and hope they all enjoyed the evening as much as I did. It was nice to see new members attending and we hope to see them again soon,” added Mari.