Staff from the Welsh Government’s Farm Liaison Service (FLS) were today (Monday June 15) presented with the Farmers’ Union of Wales annual external award for services to the agricultural industry in Wales.

The FLS is an important point of contact for many farmers in Wales and provide Welsh farmers with confidential, one-to-one guidance and support on a wide range of topics.

“Their dedicated team of regionally based support staff provide farmers with up to date information about all agriculture-related schemes and policy areas administered by the Welsh Government and today we are paying tribute to the tremendous contribution they make to the agricultural sector year on year,” said FUW president Emyr Jones.

“As a union we are always grateful to see Farm Liaison Officers at divisional offices, many of the main livestock markets in Wales, regional agricultural shows and numerous Farming Connect events. The way they bridge the gap between civil servants and farmers for example by helping them with scheme guidance, farm records etc. which speeds up the process considerably for the farming community.

“Working Smarter Report author Gareth Williams said of the service that ‘The one-to-one advice and the ‘group’ and 'surgery' approaches employed by FLS are universally appreciated’ and we can only second that notion,” added Mr Jones.

FUW county executive officer David Waters said: “While concerns remain in some areas about access to the FLS following the closure of some offices, we welcome the ongoing commitment to the service which, alongside the services provided by the FUW, will continue to be of central importance to a large number of farmers, not least given the increase in bureaucracy which has accompanied the new CAP.”

[caption id="attachment_5351" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Presenting the FUW external award for services to agriculture to Rita Jones and the FLS is deputy minister for farming and food Rebecca Evans and FUW president Emyr Jones.[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales 2015 internal award in recognition of services to the agricultural industry in Wales has been won by Glamorganshire beef and sheep farmer and long standing South Wales special member of the Farmers’ Union of Wales finance and organisation committee Lorraine Howells at today’s annual general meeting (Monday June 15) held at the MedRus conference centre on Aberystwyth University’s Penglais campus.

FUW president Emyr Jones, who presented the award, said: “Lorraine has been a member of the FUW for around 40 years. Her commitment and service to the union and agriculture has been of tremendous value and we thank her for all she has done.

“She has been a hardworking and conscientious member of the FUW and many standing committees and during this time we have recognised that Lorraine speaks her mind passionately and strongly, but constructively.

“She served as the union’s Glamorganshire county vice chairman from 1989 to 1991, county chairman from 1991 to 1995 and was elected as South Wales member of the central finance and organisation committee in 2000 before being elected vice president in June 2011.

“Lorraine chaired the FUW’s central common land committee for over ten years and is a past vice chairman of the central hill farming and marginal land committee.

“She has served as president of the Welsh Black Cattle Society and her successful and renowned butchers shop Cig Mynydd Cymru, which she set up eight years ago with five fellow breeders in the Rhymney and Merthyr Valley, is testimony to her commitment to the farming industry.”

Miss Howells, who farms Cwm Carno Farm, Rhymney, a hill farm extending to 320 acres mostly of reclaimed opencast land with common grazing, has been farming since 1974 at first in partnership with her grandparents, and then on her own.

“We must also acknowledge the sterling work Lorraine does outside of the union. She is the treasurer of her local commoners association, sits on the local access forum with her local authority, she is also part of the local action group for the RDP team, sits on the south east Wales TB board as a farmer member and has previously sat on the upland forum,” added Mr Jones.

“I am very proud to receive the award today and I must thank Lee Pritchard for all his help on the farm. Without him I would not have been able to carry out as much work for the union as I have,” said Miss Howells.

Cwm Carno farm carries a suckler herd of pedigree Welsh Black cattle and South Wales Mountain ewes and has been in the family for over 100 years.

Miss Howells took early retirement from teaching at the local comprehensive school in 1997 to devote more time to farming.

[caption id="attachment_5348" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Presenting the FUW internal award for services to agriculture to Lorraine Howells are (left) FUW president Emyr Jones and (right) FUW deputy president Glyn Roberts.[/caption]

Delegates at the Farmers’ Union of Wales’ (FUW) annual general meeting have been told farmers are ideally placed to play a key role in addressing the major challenges of our generation.

However, speaking to delegates on Monday (June 15) in Aberystwyth, FUW president Emyr Jones warned that this could only happen if the industry was unhindered by regulations, and proper incentives were provided through the Rural Development Programme (RDP).

“At the time of our establishment in 1955, post-war rationing had only just come to an end, and the impact of food shortages remained fresh in peoples’ minds,” said Mr Jones.

Over the subsequent sixty years farms had modernised in order to providing plentiful and affordable food, he told delegates, meaning less than 10 percent of household incomes were now spent on food compared with more than 30 percent in 1955.

“In 1955 the world’s population stood at 2.8 billion. It now stands at 7.3 billion, well over double the 1955 level, and by the time the FUW reaches its 75th birthday it is expected to have trebled to 8.4 billion.

“With world populations set to continue growing, food production must remain the priority, but we must also recognise the other pressures and needs that growing populations bring, not least in terms of energy and the management of our natural resources.”

Mr Jones said Welsh farmers would rise to these new challenges just as they had done over the past six decades, but could only do so with the support of a focussed Rural Development Programme and in the absence of unnecessary restrictions.

“An appropriately structured RDP has the ability to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry over the coming years and decades, and above all else raise hopes.

“Such hope is desperately needed out there in the farming industry, at a time when farm incomes have crashed; farmgate prices have plummeted; and those factors influencing the Euro-Sterling exchange rate show little hope of improving in the near future – not to mention worries over our departure from the EU.”

Mr Jones said that while some factors were beyond government control, regulation was one area they did control which can make or break the ability to become more profitable while addressing key challenges.

He warned that the Welsh Government’s appetite for legislation could not only hinder the achievement of key objectives agreed upon by government and farming organisations, but also bring the principle of devolved government into disrepute.

“Overzealous legislation makes for bad governance, and strapped for cash businesses and authorities across Wales wait with bated breath, hoping that their worst fears are not realised when it comes to implementing the raft of legislation that is about to hit us here in Wales,” he added.

The Anglesey branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales is unveiling a plaque to commemorate the Land Army Girls on Friday June 26 at the Anglesey County Showground.

“The FUW, together with the local community, has raised enough money now to have a plaque made and it is to be placed very aptly on the Anglesey County Showground, home of the Anglesey Agricultural Society,” said FUW Anglesey county executive officer Heidi Williams.

“As in World War One, young women were called on to work on the land and the Women’s Land Army (WLA) was re-formed in July 1939.

“Their work was vital as so many men were sent to war. The work was hard and the young women usually worked in isolated communities. Many lived in hostels or old farm workers’ cottages, often without running water, electricity or gas and for this we want to commemorate them.

“It is understood that this is the only plaque of its kind in Wales to honour the ladies who gave their valuable service to agriculture during the war,” added Mrs Williams.

The event will be followed be a vintage parade, tea party and a visit from “Parti Canu Ysgol Henblas”.

“We would love to hear from anybody with an interest or connection to the Land Army Girls and who would like to attend the event and our war veterans are of course also most welcome to join us,” added Mrs Williams.

For more information please phone Heidi Williams on 01248 750250.