A sheep and cattle farming family from Brecon have highlighted the important role that the average family farm, including tenant farmers, play in producing food and looking after the environment, during a farm visit with Minister for Environment Hannah Blythyn.
Opening the gates to their 270 acre tenanted farm, Talwen Fawr, were Darren and Rachel Williams, who run 500 ewes, 100 ewe lambs and 100 cattle.
The farm is a mixed farm and they grow their own corn for feeding and aim to fatten their lambs from forage crops, grass and red clover leys. The farm is also in the Glastir Advanced scheme.
Highlighting the environmental work being done on the farm but also stressing the limitations imposed by its size and nature, Darren said: “Wales’s upland farms come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but many people run away with the idea they all have vast areas of moorland and mountain.
“In fact, most upland farms don’t, so we need to take care policies are not based on misconceptions and that they cater for everyone.”
The Williams’ family farm, which has no mountain, hill grazing, or open land, is actually very typical of the type of farms found in many of Wales’ upland areas.
“The diverse mixture of farms in the uplands is inherent to the beauty and value of Wales’s countryside. These different habitats all attract visitors and are valuable in terms of producing food and looking after different types of wildlife, and they all need to be managed in different ways. It’s not a case of one size fits all,” said Darren.
He added that while they had an extremely understanding landlord, others were not so lucky, and that policies needed to take tenant’s needs into account.
Rachel highlighted the need for conservation and food production to go hand in hand, and that the environment of the farm was created and maintained as a result of their focus and commitment to food production.
“We are worried that in the future policies might tip the wrong way and could have negative impacts, not just on the environment and species that we all enjoy so much but also on the rural economy and food production.
“For environmental work to be affordable, farms have to be profitable, and efficiency should not be compromised by schemes,” she said.
Speaking after the event, FUW President Glyn Roberts highlighted that agriculture has created a myriad of landscapes and environments which define Wales’ national identity and play a key part in the physical and mental well-being of millions of residents and visitors to the countryside each year.
“While many recognise the central role agriculture plays in maintaining our countryside, more work needs to be done to highlight just how much work our farmers, like Darren and Rachel, already do, and the benefits they are delivering in terms of the Welsh Government’s well-being goals.
“While looking at possible future policies we need to ensure the diverse range of farm sizes and types are all catered for, as well as the needs of the tenanted sector. Otherwise we risk losing key contributors to our rural communities and economy who also deliver so much in terms of our environment,” said Glyn Roberts.