The Farmers' Union of Wales has welcomed the decision by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to protect key priority areas in the 2011/12 draft budget.
Areas which have been targeted for protection include the delivery of the Rural Development Plan, the administration of the Single Payment Scheme, bovine TB eradication, and the Young Entrants' Support Scheme.
Responding to the announcement, FUW President Gareth Vaughan said: "The current financial climate means that a reduction in the Rural Affairs department's draft budget was inevitable.
"While such cuts are naturally a cause for concern, we welcome the decision to protect key areas relating to the Single Payment, Rural Development, bovine TB, and the YES Scheme.
"The Single Payment Scheme and Rural Development Plan deliver significant sums of money to Wales's communities, and failure to protect these budgets could have led to the loss of European funding which is essential to our rural economy.
"Eradication of the current bTB disease epidemic and maintaining support for young people are also important areas that we are glad to see being protected."
However, Mr Vaughan emphasised that the Union would continue to monitor the situation closely.
"Welsh agriculture makes an essential contribution to our economy, culture, and environment, and we must ensure that cuts do not have a knock-on effect which undermines these key contributions."