FUW Policy Officer, Teleri Fielden reflect on the Welsh Government’s recent publication of their ‘Sustainable Land Management Indicators and Target Statement’.

December 2025 saw the Welsh Government published their Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Indicators and Targets Statement. This seemingly inconspicuous document sets out the reporting mechanisms, success measures, and potential future targets for all support schemes, regulations and policies within the Agriculture (Wales) Act framework.

It can often take years for our policy lobbying efforts to come to fruition, and what may appear to be innocent phrasing, a simple omission, or simply terminology within a policy document, can suddenly be influential years later. It’s up to us to spot these and act on them to ensure positive, as opposed to negative, outcomes for Welsh farming. Back in 2022 our lobbying work began to influence the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, and the final ‘Sustainable Land Management’ (SLM) objectives. Post Brexit, the FUW had to fight hard to ensure food production, agricultural businesses, and rural communities featured explicitly within these ’powers to support purposes’ on the face of the Bill. Whilst the wording wasn’t always what we had hoped for (for example, “improving the resilience of agricultural businesses” as opposed to explicitly ‘protecting and enhancing the economic viability of agricultural businesses’), it ensures that the Welsh Government has the power to financially support farmers for this reason or goal within subsidy rules, outside of the previous safety net of the European Common Agricultural Policy.

After the vision, and the Bill wording was finalised, work turned to creating quantitative ‘indicators’ to assess progress against. After this, comes target setting. During 2025, alongside work to improve and finalise arguably the first and biggest test of the Agriculture (Wales) Act - the Sustainable Farming Scheme - the Union represented the industry on a Technical Expert Group to develop indicators for the SLM objectives. Thanks to the work done three years ago on the ‘powers for support’, we were able to successfully lobby to widen the indicators to include the average (financial) agricultural output by farm, net farm income, agricultural workforce numbers, utilised agricultural area, mental health indicators for farmers and the number of Welsh speakers in the agricultural sector.

Sustainability and a holistic picture of the whole industry must include a balance of economic, environmental, social and cultural factors. Whilst two of the more ‘environmental’ SLM objectives (mitigating and adapting to climate change, and maintaining and enhancing the resilience of ecosystems) play a crucial role in agricultural businesses and Wales’ landscapes, there are a plethora of other bills, acts, objectives, and targets which already measure their progress. What remains a gap, which the Agriculture (Wales) Act and the SLM targets should plug, are explicit targets for both food security, and Welsh farmers’ economic ability to address these wider objectives. Land management decisions to achieve the biodiversity, climate and sustainable food objectives cannot be divorced from the economic and social needs or influences that farming families and food businesses experience. It is also important to recognise that Welsh farmers sit in a far wider economic context of UK-wide and global trade, processing and supply chains.

Put simply, there cannot be a single measure of success to assess the Agriculture (Wales) Act. The FUW will hold the Welsh Government to account on keeping the focus on the people, families and businesses who will be delivering these outcomes; those most impacted by the Act and the schemes, policies and regulations that stem from it over the years to come.

Thanks to enthusiastic photographers across Wales, an abundance of wonderful images, each conveying rural life, arrived at FUW headquarters over the past few months. After sorting and judging applications for the 2026 calendar, the lovely image of a calf relaxing in long grass takes the top prize. 

Gwenllian Evans from Trefenter, Ceredigion is delighted her winning photo will appear on the cover of the 2026 calendar and is very happy to receive the top prize of £250.

The UK Government has today announced that it will be raising the proposed cap on 100% Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) from £1 million to £2.5 million per person, with 50% relief to be applied to assets above this limit. 

Combined with the announcement during the UK Budget last month, that any reliefs will be transferrable between spouses, these changes will result in an effective £5 million allowance for married couples in a farming family.

These changes to APR and BPR are expected to come into effect on 6 April 2026.

Responding to the Government’s change of course on inheritance tax (IHT), FUW President Ian Rickman has said:

“Today’s news will be a welcome early Christmas present for many farmers across Wales who have endured months of uncertainty and anxiety caused by the UK Government’s ill-thought-out changes to IHT.

“The Government’s initial proposals for IHT reform caused untold worry for farming families, and have seriously dampened confidence across the sector and wider rural economy, as farmers have feared for the long-term succession of their businesses.

The FUW has consistently advocated for a fairer approach to inheritance tax reform, and has for the past year lobbied hard for the UK Government to change course and adopt a more proportionate approach. These calls have been matched by opposition parties, multiple cross-party parliamentary committees, and growing numbers of the Government’s own Members of Parliament.

“At a time of considerable uncertainty and volatility for farmers across Wales, the UK Government’s revisions to the tax threshold represent some much-needed relief. 

“Though the FUW remains frustrated with the way the UK Government has approached these reforms, I would like to offer my thanks to Ministers in the Wales Office for their willingness to engage in dialogue with us on this issue to date.”

Meeting Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS and Rural Affairs spokesperson Llyr Gruffydd MS, the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) reaffirmed its key manifesto call for securing appropriate funding for the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) as it moves from design to delivery. 

Earlier this week, FUW Regional Vice President Alun Owen, alongside his wife Marian and son Siôn, welcomed the Plaid Cymru representatives to their farm, Gallt-y-Celyn in Pentrefoelas. Gallt-y-Celyn is an upland beef and sheep farm on the Foelas estate in the Uwchaled area, sitting between 600 and 800 feet above sea level. 

During the farm tour with the Owen family and visitors, discussions focused on the challenges facing Welsh farmers, including the Welsh Government’s Control of Agricultural Pollution ‘NVZ’ regulations and the implementation of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

At a meeting following the tour, FUW President Ian Rickman and Tim Faire, Chair of FUW’s Land Use and Climate Change Committee also stressed the urgent need for a fair funding settlement that allows for at least the maintenance of annual payment rates in line with inflation for farms entering the Scheme from 2026.

In autumn, the Welsh Government published the evidence base underpinning the SFS. While improvements had been made following extensive engagement and lobbying, the impact assessments highlighted a potential reduction in livestock units and farm business income, demonstrating the need for increased funding.

As part of their 2026 Senedd Manifesto launched earlier this year, the FUW reiterated its calls for the next Welsh Government to provide adequate funding, maintain close collaboration with the farming industry, and deliver a medium-term financial framework that gives certainty to Welsh farming businesses.

As part of their manifesto calls, the Farmers’ Union of Wales are calling on the next Welsh Government to increase the base-level funding of £238 million for the Universal Layer of the SFS by an amount that fully mitigates the estimated economic impacts and supports the Scheme’s ambitions. Based on the Government’s own assessments, this would mean an increase of at least £76 million.

Commenting, FUW President Ian Rickman said:

“As the Sustainable Farming Scheme moves from design to delivery, it is crucial that existing, and future Welsh Governments provide it with an appropriate budget and financial framework. Welsh farmers need certainty and adequate support to ensure the Scheme succeeds and delivers for the environment, rural communities, and farm businesses across Wales.

As May’s crucial Senedd election approaches, we will continue to lobby and engage with politicians from all parties for a future where food production and Welsh family farms are placed firmly at the heart of government policy.”

Reflecting on the visit, FUW Regional Vice President, Alun Owen said:

"I was pleased to welcome Plaid Cymru representatives to our farm to discuss many of the changes and challenges currently facing Welsh agriculture. It’s important that politicians understand the pressures our farms face, from environmental regulations to the introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

I also welcomed the opportunity to emphasise the crucial need for a five-year financial framework for the Sustainable Farming Scheme budget, providing medium-term economic certainty for Welsh farming businesses.

“Crucially, if Welsh farmers are to invest to comply with regulatory requirements, or adapt their businesses to meet the rules of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, we need assurances from the next Welsh Government that future funding for farm support will continue to support our ability to produce sustainable food.”