A €2m southern Irish government scheme to help its farmers to import fodder from the UK and other EU countries is distorting the market for Welsh farmers also in desperate need of fodder, the Farmers' Union of Wales claimed today.

The imported fodder transport scheme has been established due to the severe shortages in the republic caused by severe weather over the past 12 months.

But the problems facing Welsh farmers are no different and are, in fact, being exacerbated by the Irish scheme, says the union.

“Farmers throughout Wales are still struggling due to the impact of the weather over the past year, particularly since mid-March, and fodder continues to be a real problem on every type of farm here," said FUW hill farming and marginal land committee chairman Derek Morgan, of Llangurig, Powys.

“The FUW wrote to the Welsh Government in December warning of these shortages and their impact and calling for some kind of fodder scheme to be introduced.

“It now seems that the Irish have taken the initiative to help their farmers, but the scheme is specifically targeted at subsidising imports of fodder from the UK and other EU regions, excluding Northern Ireland.

“With fodder already in short supply, the removal of fodder from the UK market through the Irish subsidisation of haulage costs is of course distorting the market - it is basic supply and demand economics.

“We have every sympathy with Irish farmers facing the same problems as we are, but it cannot be right if the help their government is providing is making matters worse for our farmers.”

Mr Morgan said that the FUW had already made representations to the Welsh Government regarding the scheme and would seek to stop any measures which merely add to the dire problems faced by Welsh farmers.

Eire agriculture and food minister Simon Coveney last week announced he was extending the deadline for applications for funding under the imported fodder transport scheme to May 24 and doubling the fund to €2m.

The scheme was introduced to reduce the cost to farmers of imported forage from outside the island of Ireland. It is operating through the dairy co-operatives (milk purchasers) and covers forage imported by the co-ops from between April 15 and May 24.

It is claimed that the scheme is subject to EU State Aid rules, will substantially cover the cost of transport into the country and reduce the cost to farmers of a bale of hay by approximately one third.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales today expressed its disappointment that a government study on the effects of sky lanterns and helium balloons on the environment failed to support calls for them to be banned. 

Jointly commissioned by Defra and the Welsh Government, the study was carried out by ADAS into the risks of sky lanterns and helium balloons to livestock health and welfare; the environment (including litter); fire risk; damage to marine life and consumer safety.

"After consulting our members, the union called for an outright ban on the manufacture and sale of sky lanterns and for their release to be made illegal in the UK," said FUW land use policy officer Andrew Gurney.

"We received numerous reports from members of sky lanterns being found in fields which were being grazed, were about to be grazed, or cut for silage or hay.

"Other more serious reports received included a lantern found smouldering in a barn containing hay and straw and a cow injured following a stampede started by lanterns floating over fields containing livestock.

"ADAS concedes the evidence they received suggests widespread concern from farmers and others over the impact of sky lanterns on the health and welfare of livestock and horses.

"We were therefore very surprised and disappointed that they also said the evidence indicated the number of cases reported annually of animals affected through panic and fright and of ingestion of sky lantern debris was 'very small'.

"The study accepted there may be a significant level of under-reporting but, based on the evidence ADAS say they received, they found it difficult to conclude that the overall impact is anything other than 'of minor significance'.

"The report further states there may be a significant level of under-reporting of the evidence regarding the ingestion by animals of helium balloons but it indicated the impact is 'very small and confined to isolated incidents'.

"The study’s findings are disappointing because, in our evidence to ADAS, we stressed the union was wholly opposed to the release of sky lanterns due to the dangers they pose to the agricultural sector.

"The materials used in their construction pose a danger to livestock, particularly if the wire or bamboo from the frame of the lantern is chopped up during the silage making process and contaminates feedstocks.

"Sky lanterns also pose a considerable fire risk, during the dry summer months, to open heath land as well as to standing crops in fields or once harvesting has taken place and the crop is stored in fields or barns.

"On the issue of helium balloons, the impact usually relates to livestock becoming startled or frightened by balloons floating over fields and causing them to stampede or trample fencing resulting in injury and the associated welfare issues and financial costs.

"Despite the study’s findings, the union reiterates its call for an outright ban on the manufacture and sale of sky lanterns and for their release to be made illegal in the UK. We will continue to make the appropriate representations to bring this about."

The Farmers’ Union of Wales today branded the Welsh Government’s failure to heed its warnings to make a fallen stock burial derogation more workable - or face a collection crisis - as “gold plating at a time of emergency”.

Since an extended burial derogation was issued on April 2 in response to the severe weather, the FUW has consistently warned Government that the excessive red tape accompanying the derogation would lead to more misery and a significant and escalating disease risk due to fallen stock collectors being unable to cope with demand.

“In particular, we told the Welsh Government on April 2 that it was totally wrong to require farmers to obtain evidence from fallen collectors that they would not be able to collect, and that this would completely undermine the utility of a desperately needed derogation,” said FUW president Emyr Jones, of Rhosygwaliau, near Bala.

“It is totally unfair on farmers, but also unfair on the collectors. After all, farmers were effectively required to ask for confirmation from the collectors that they were unable to provide you with a service and did not want your business.”

Mr Jones was reacting to an Environment and Sustainability Committee hearing earlier today when committee members questioned natural resources and food minister Alun Davies about his department’s handling of the recent crisis. During the hearing, the Government claimed such bureaucracy and evidence was “necessary”.

“While we accept that collecting evidence was necessary to ensure compliance with the terms of the derogation , it is unbelievably naïve to require farmers to get a key part of that evidence from fallen stock collectors, particularly at a time when the evidence was all around and in places 15 or 20 feet deep!” said Mr Jones.

“Farmers with their backs against the wall and already suffering have had their misery added to by having to watch rotting carcasses for weeks and when they have contacted their local authorities asking if they can bury, they have been told ‘no’  and threatened with prosecution because the Welsh Government guidance is so restrictive.

“It is an absolutely disgraceful and immoral situation and, while the EU Regulation lies at the root of the problem, the gold plating of the Regulation in the guidance issued to local authorities has played a significant part in adding to peoples’ emotional and financial woes.”

Mr Jones also expressed major concerns regarding the Welsh Government’s claim, during hearing, that much of the evidence it had heard was anecdotal rather than hard.

“The vast majority of the general public are in no doubt that farms within a broad band across Mid and North Wales have faced a major emergency over the past six weeks and we have been providing regular updates to the Welsh Government on the problems facing large numbers of farms and lobbying for changes which recognise these problems,” he said.

“While the Welsh Government is based in Cardiff, it also has offices across North Wales and must surely have been aware that the problems facing farmers and their animals were real and that urgent action needed to be taken.”

Mr Jones said he had already raised concerns at an EU level but questions needed to be answered in terms of the way in which the crisis had been handled at Welsh and local government levels.

[caption id="attachment_2379" align="aligncenter" width="200"] FUW president Emyr Jones[/caption]

The decision that all dogs in Wales will be microchipped by March 2015, following a public consultation last year by the Welsh Government, was given a lukewarm welcome by the Farmers’ Union of Wales today.

In a previous consultation response the FUW stressed that most responsible owners will voluntarily microchip their dogs as a matter of course as the benefits microchipping provides in terms of traceability and identification are primarily to their advantage.

“Under the Control of Dogs Order 1992, dogs are already required to be identifiable in public by wearing a collar and tag with the owner’s name and address. Irresponsible dog owners are as likely not to use a microchip as they would a collar, therefore the wider benefits of responsible dog ownership promoted by the Welsh Government may not materialise,” said FUW deputy director of policy Rhian Nowell-Phillips.

“The agricultural industry has suffered increasing problems associated with sheep worrying on farmland so we are extremely interested in any measures which would help mitigate these problems,” added Ms Nowell-Phillips.

“Unfortunately, the union does not believe that compulsory microchipping will have any real impact on irresponsible dog owners who are unlikely to comply and so the decision whether or not to microchip should remain voluntary.

“Less responsible dog owners will inevitably find their way around any legislation and it is for this reason the FUW believes that the promotion of good practice and highlighting the benefits of microchipping should be a priority over legislation.”

Of the estimated 450,000 dogs in Wales, it is estimated that some 58 per cent are already microchipped. This means that there are approximately 190,000 dogs that would need to be microchipped prior to March 2015.