The need to urgently deal with bovine TB across Wales was hotly debated by the Farmers’ Union of Wales’ animal health and welfare committee at a recent virtual meeting ahead of the Welsh Senedd election in May.

Speaking at the meeting, Ian Lloyd, FUW Animal Health and Welfare Committee chairman said: “It is a sad reflection of the ongoing problems caused by Bovine TB that the disease still warrants such detailed discussions. While improvements have been made since 2009 in regard to new herd incidents, the latest statistics show that 9,762 animals were slaughtered in the year to December 2020 in Wales.” 

The failure of the Welsh Government's Agriculture white paper to refer to payment capping is shameful and raises major concerns that a regressive move away from the policy is being considered.

That is the view of Ceredigion farmer sheep Anwen Hughes, who says the FUW is right to highlight the issue amongst one of its ten key manifesto asks.

"FUW members have consistently supported the capping of farm payments in response to consultations over the past two decades, and we successfully lobbied for their introduction when it first became possible," said Mrs Hughes who farms around 138 acres, of which 99 acres are owned, 22.5 acres are on a lifetime farm tenancy and a further 17 acres are rented at Bryngido farm, just outside of Aberaeron in Ceredigion.

A limit on the amount of direct payments a farm business in Wales can receive was introduced in 2015 by the then minister Alun Davies.

Farmers from Carmarthenshire took the opportunity to quiz their prospective Senedd Members for the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency at a virtual hustings, which was hosted jointly on Zoom by the FUW, Wales YFC and NFU Cymru, on Tuesday 13 April. 

Speaking after the meeting, FUW Carmarthenshire County Executive Officer David Waters said: “Many members of the farming community took up this opportunity to pose questions to those that seek to represent them in Cardiff for the next Welsh Senedd term. 

“The big questions around NVZs, river pollution by water companies and future Welsh policies were high on the agenda and the FUW will continue to lobby on these.”

Farmers in Wales feel like they’re part of a social experiment given the current Welsh Government proposal to place an untried and untested approach developed in England at the heart of future Welsh farm policy. That was the message from Farmers’ Union of Wales Carmarthenshire County Chairman Phil Jones ahead of the Welsh Senedd Elections in May. 

Phil Jones, from Clyttie Cochion, Llanpumsaint, Carmarthenshire, has been farming almost his entire life and looks after 150 acres, grazing 350 sheep under organic management. He took the farm back in hand 2011 as it had been rented out following a family tragedy and is worried about the future of farming in Wales and the effects untested policies will have on the industry.

“Concerns in the farming community that the ‘public goods payment’ policy proposed at the core of the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme threaten the survival of the industry are at an all time high. I feel like I’m part of a social experiment; like every farmer in Wales is part of that experiment.