A Glamorgan beef and sheep farming couple have called for clarity on trade and funding post-Brexit on the eve of the 1 year exit countdown.

Farmers’ Union of Wales Glamorgan County Chairman Richard Walker and his partner Rachel Edwards, who run Flaxland Farm - a 120 acre holding just outside of Barry, look after 120 breeding ewes, 3 rams, 40 lambs from last year, 150 lambs from this year and 100 cattle (consisting of 37 breeding 60 young stock).

They are worried about the lack of progress made in trade negotiations and the fact that farmers in Wales still don’t know what budget will be allocated to Wales in terms of agriculture.

Speaking from his farm, Richard said: “We are 1 year away from leaving the EU, yet we have no idea of where our produce will be sold to and under what conditions and we don’t know how much money will be allocated to Wales as part of the agricultural budget. It is very worrying and I urge the UK Government to provide clarity as soon as possible.”

Even though Richard and Rachel have secured a market for their lambs with local butchers in the Vale of Glamorgan, the concern for the rest of the industry remains.

Rachel said: “We have managed to secure a market for our produce locally but that doesn’t in any way help the other lamb producers across Wales. Politicians need to understand that most of the lambs born this year will be sold into a post-Brexit market - but what exactly that market looks like, and under what conditions, such as tariffs, where and how our produce will be sold is a mystery.

We recently caught up with Bryony Francis, a dog behaviour consultant, Clinical Animal Behaviourist and Full Member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC), who spoke at the Animal Welfare Network Wales livestock worrying seminar, hosted by the FUW at the end of last year. She has been running a behaviour practice in South Wales and the Marches since 2002 and lives in farming country near the Black Mountains with her husband and a Jack Russell Terrier.

Here is her advice for dog owners when it comes to livestock worrying:

With various access rights, walkers and dogs share the countryside with the farm animals and wildlife that live there. We all want to enjoy it. Yet science shows that any new arrival causes stress to livestock and, of stimuli investigated, a dog is the most aversive stimulus that you can present to sheep.

In short, as soon as you take a dog into a field of sheep, you are likely to cause stress to the sheep regardless of how you and your dog behave after that. Stress can cause illness and injury, and therefore has serious consequences for the welfare of the livestock and the farmer’s livelihood. Owners and walkers of dogs have responsibilities under the law and, under some circumstances, farmers are legally entitled to shoot dogs that endanger their sheep.

Dogs inherit some behavioural tendencies and acquire others. The domestic dog is a predator, with hunting behaviours altered but not eliminated through breeding. A dog’s desire to engage in these hunting behaviours varies from breed to breed and from individual dog to individual dog. Most dogs learn early in their lives to enjoy chasing things.

The shocking and devastating images circulating once again of sheep which have been savagely attacked by dogs and died as a result come as a timely warning to those wishing to enjoy the countryside this Easter break, says the FUW.

With the weather improving and the Easter holidays around the corner many people are going to visit the countryside to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery in Wales, but with lambing in full swing the Farmers’ Union of Wales is asking dog walkers to take extra care to reduce the risks to heavily pregnant ewes and newly born lambs.

“There are never ending incidents of sheep being attacked across the country and this is why we are calling on the support of the public to help minimise incidents of attacks on livestock by dogs once again.

“The weather is warming up and many people want to visit the countryside, so we are appealing to dog owners to follow the Countryside Code to keep their dogs under close control, preferably on a lead when using public paths where livestock are present,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

It all began inside a 3.5 litre Riley as it sped out of London along the A40, when the driver and his passenger were encapsulated in the gloom of an autumn evening back in 1954.

Following yet another fruitless meeting in London and the realisation that there was nobody standing up for the farmers of Wales, two men -  Ivor T. Davies of Brynmafon, Llanfihangel-ar-Arth (Chairman of the NFU’s County Executive Committee in Carmarthen) and J.B. Evans (the NFU County secretary in Carmarthen) - made a stance that would change the future of farmers in Wales forever.

And in December 1955 the Farmers’ Union of Wales was born. Although many prophesied that the new Union would be short-lived, it soon played an influential role in Welsh agriculture and still does today.

An application of formal recognition was made by the FUW on 7 February 1978. It was granted less than two months later on 23 March 1978.

The FUW has given a cautious welcome to an announcement on the future of agriculture and land management by Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths - but warned that plans need to be developed cautiously if devastation for rural communities is to be avoided.

The Welsh Government’s announcement made on Wednesday (March 21) acknowledges the challenges faced in light of the significant and swift changes facing Wales as a result of Brexit, and highlights five core principles it believes should underpin the future of Welsh agriculture and land management.

Responding to the announcement, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s acknowledgement that ‘farming is a vital part of the rural economy. It is the social anchor of communities and land managers are the custodians of the land that underpins our natural environment’

“It’s also welcome to once again hear the Cabinet Secretary supporting our view that there must be a well-planned multi-year transition to whatever system is ultimately agreed upon.

Farmers are being reminded of the new rules on Quarantine Units (QUs), which replaced Isolation Facilities, ahead of the show season.

“Those wishing to regularly show animals during the show season without falling foul of the six day standstill rule now have no choice but to set up an approved Quarantine Unit,” said FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas.

While the FUW has long been a supporter of changes which would reduce the pressures caused by the six-day standstill rule during busy trading periods as well as the show season, it was one of many industry bodies which highlighted the obstacles represented by high establishment costs and the strictness of the new rules, and that the replacement of isolation facilities could cause major problems for Welsh shows.

“The principle of isolating animals when they come on to a farm is one that should be followed wherever possible, and we had the opportunity of making it second nature by introducing a workable new system.

“Unfortunately, the cost and impractical nature of the rules and the movement reporting requirements represent a major obstacle to achieving this, and at the last count less than 100 farms have signed up for the new system.”