The Farmers' Union of Wales is urging Tesco to back Welsh dairy farmers by committing to a minimum farm gate price of 28 pence per litre for cheese purchased from First Milk and South Caernarfon Creameries.

Following a meeting with industry representatives earlier this month, Tesco agreed to consider a minimum farm gate price for cheese.

“There has been a great deal of emphasis placed on liquid milk recently and we welcome moves to raise the price paid for standard milk.  However, around 80 percent of the milk processed in Wales goes into cheese production and the opportunities to provide Welsh dairy producers with better prices has therefore been limited,” said FUW milk and dairy produce chairman Dei Davies. 

“A commitment by Tesco to minimum cheese pricing would therefore provide a level of support to Welsh producers that liquid initiatives simply cannot do and would be a great boost for the sector.

“At the same time, it is imperative that consumers are confident in the origin of the cheese that they are buying and the FUW would also like to see Tesco agree to a single country of origin label on cheese.  This way, consumers can trust that the cheese they put in their basket is British,” added Mr Davies.

A decision is due to be made on this matter shortly and the FUW would urge Tesco to build on the progress already made and demonstrate a commitment to hard working Welsh producers by paying a fairer price for cheese.

[caption id="attachment_5607" align="aligncenter" width="300"] (l-r) FUW Montgomeryshire county chairman Mark Williams with Ithyl and Lynda Brown and FUW president Glyn Roberts[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales members Lynda and Ithyl Brown, who run the well-known Neuadd Fach Baconry, Llandinam, are celebrating after striking gold twice in the 2015 Great Taste Awards, the Oscars of the food world.

The company won the coveted gold awards, organised annually by the Guild of Fine Food, for its Lemon and chilli sausage and bacon wrap and thin cut shoulder bacon, taking its collection of Great Taste Awards to 31.

The delicious products are produced from pigs grown and cured by the couple on the family farm in Llandinam.

“It still gives us a buzz when we win a Great Taste Award ,” said Lynda after receiving the award.

“We have been making the sausage and bacon wraps for a while now, and they are proving very popular with our customers.  So we were thrilled to win an award for them which underlines the quality of our product.

“We pride ourselves on personally handling the whole process from farm to customer and that is how we know that what we produce and supply is a totally delicious product from well looked-after pigs.”

FUW president Glyn Roberts, who sampled some of the chilli and lemon sausages at a recent BBQ, which was organised by the union during the National Eisteddfod, said: “I must congratulate Lynda and Ithyl on their achievement and recommend their products as being most delicious. I further thank them for donating the sausages and burgers for our BBQ at the National Eisteddfod, which was held to welcome our new Montgomeryshire county executive officer Emyr Wyn Davies to the union. ”

Having run the business for 20 years, the Browns have recently begun hosting visits for local groups who can see how the pigs are reared and how the products are cured.

The couple have been keeping pigs at Neuadd Fach since 1986 and started the Baconry in 1999 when pig prices collapsed and they were losing £10 a pig. 

The business was then badly affected by the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 and they were unable to send anything to the abattoir for 10 weeks. This caused terrible problems with overcrowding as of course the pigs kept coming. 

“Thanks to financial help with the cost of the additional feed by RABI and then the RSPCA to help us offload the pigs because of the overcrowding, we were able to continue our business and are pleased to see it go from strength to strength.

“We are now in a position where we can take people on tours around the business and it is nice to see that people are very interested in where their food comes from and how it’s produced. We have had wonderful reactions to the tours and welcome visitors who are interested in trying our produce,” added Mrs Brown.

[caption id="attachment_5604" align="aligncenter" width="300"] (l-r) FUW president Glyn Roberts, Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb and FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Dei Davies.[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales and Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb joined forces yesterday (Monday, August 17) to discuss challenges facing Welsh farmers and are asking for flexible tax payments in light of the current dairy and lamb price crisis.

The price falls suffered by both lamb and dairy farmers are significant.  Whilst the recent announcements for increasing the price paid by supermarkets for liquid milk is very welcome, it deals only with a small portion of the market place.

“We had a very productive meeting yesterday and continued to stress that current price levels are not sustainable.  Mr Bebb has agreed to write to DEFRA Minister George Eustice MP, to see what short term support the sector can be offered whilst a long-term strategy is developed,” said FUW president Glyn Roberts.

The union previously welcomed the decision by the Chancellor to extend farmers averaging for tax purposes from two years to five and in a bid to help cash-struck farmers further the union is now calling on farmers to ask their accountants whether the concession could be used to protect their cash-flow.

“Farmers affected by the volatility in the market place are advised to speak to their accounts to see if the concessions can be used to help their cash-flow.  In addition Guto Bebb agreed to write to HM Customs and Revenue requesting that the ‘Time to Pay’ concession be invoked for the farming community,” added Mr Roberts.

Mr Bebb, who welcomed the opportunity to meet with the FUW, said: “Farmers want to pay their due and if tax is owing it will be paid.  However, the extreme price falls seen across dairy and lamb markets means that many farmers, expected to pay their back taxes in two annual instalments, are facing real cash-flow challenges in meeting their obligations.

“I have written to HM Customs and Revenue asking them to offer flexible time to pay agreements to ensure that farmers meet their obligations without putting any undue short-term pressures on their cash-flows.”

Mr Roberts further said that: “Current marketplace volatility has left many producers struggling to stay afloat and the Union has received calls from members extremely worried about the future viability of their businesses.

“Whilst the FUW will continue to call for both a fairer supply chain and measures to manage over supply, it is also imperative that we try to find immediate solutions to halt the number of farmers going out of business.

“The use of more flexible agreements could go some way to help mitigate the low returns being experienced by Welsh sheep and dairy farmers.”

[caption id="attachment_5601" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Liz Saville Roberts and FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones.[/caption]

The Farmers' Union of Wales Meirionnydd branch has expressed its anger and disappointment at the proposed closure of the Rural Payments Office (RPW) in Dolgellau as part of an internal strategic review of its premises by Welsh Government.

“This facility is of tremendous importance to Meirionnydd farmers, which is used on a regular basis,” said FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones.

“We have written to local MP Liz Saville Roberts and Dafydd Elis Thomas AM and further contacted the divisional office at Caernarfon to express our concerns.

“The FUW will fight hard to safeguard this service which is so important to farmers. Whilst it is accepted that more and more issues are dealt with on-line, there are a large number of farmers who have got no broadband which makes it impossible for them to run a 21^st century business.

“Friday is an important market day at Dolgellau, and it is vital that the RPW office remains open. Any prospect of closure would also in time affect businesses in Dolgellau itself,” added Mr Jones.

Dwyfor-Meirionnydd MP, Liz Saville Roberts, called for Welsh Government to ensure that the RPW office remains in Dolgellau.

“The Government must undertake a thorough consultation into the potential impact of closing this office before announcing recommendations. This should include a detailed breakdown of the savings they anticipate making, and, importantly, an assessment of how this will affect the quality of the service provided to farmers.

“They should also be prepared to explain how this matches with sustainability targets. How is it fair for farmers to have to bear the cost of driving to Caernarfon when it is evident that agricultural officers working at Dolgellau once a week on market day is both cheaper and more effective in terms of face-to-face communication and the number of people helped?

“Meirionnydd is a rural area whose communities are greatly dependent on agriculture. I am concerned that Welsh Government is reducing its presence in one of the most important services it provides for this region,” said Ms Saville Roberts.