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Carmarthen businesses support the FUW’s #FarmingMatters campaign[/caption]
Businesses from Carmarthenshire spoke loud and clear highlighting why #FarmingMatters to their livelihoods, when they met with Baroness Eluned Morgan AM on a farm on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons National Park recently.
In a bid to highlight how much farming contributes to the rural economy and to demonstrate why agriculture and rural communities must be a priority for government when negotiating the UK’s exit from the European Union, Iwan Price-Davies, the FUW’s Carmarthen County Chairman, and his family opened the gates to their home farm Gellirhydd, near Babel, Carmarthenshire.
The meeting was attended by a variety of businesses including Clee Tompkinson & Francis, British Wool Marketing Board, Wynnstay, Brodyr Evans, G,T & E Feeds, Bibby Agri, For Farmers and Ashmole, as well as members and officials of the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW).
In the uplands of Carmarthenshire, Iwan Price-Davies and his family, farm 570 acres and run a flock of 900 ewes and 300 breeding ewe lambs, as well as 26 suckler cattle.
Gellirhydd is a traditional family run farm, however to top up the income Iwan’s wife Shirley also works as a practise nurse in Llandovery. Their daughter Rhian is a doctor at Glangwili hospital and it’s only son Geraint who also works on the farm full time.
Introducing his farm business, Mr Price-Davies said: “Family farms like ours are at the heart of the rural economy and the community. We spend our income locally and of course if we have to tighten our belts because of low returns or any other drop in income it will have repercussions for the businesses we deal with.
“I would love to have Shirley on the farm full time but because we need a steady, guaranteed income she works as a nurse as well. There is just not enough money generated here to sustain 3 full wages. That’s the reality for the majority of family farms in Wales.
“What we need governments to understand is that Welsh food production sustains tens of thousands of other businesses from feed merchants, agricultural contractors and engineers to hauliers, processors and retailers. Every pound that is generated on a farm, around six pounds is spent within the wider economy. This does not just matter to our rural areas though - food security and jobs security also affects our urban areas. ”
The FUW’s Deputy President Brian Thomas further highlighted that agriculture is facing a tough future and most certainly a changing future in light of our exit from European Union. He said: “We must get government and the general public to understand that if agriculture is thriving it benefits a whole host of other industries as well. But what we need are markets to sell our produce to and we need time to adjust to new policies once we have made an exit from the EU. Through our #FarmingMatters campaign we continue to drive the message home that agriculture is important - not just for us farmers but also for rural and urban businesses and communities.”
Baroness Morgan further heard how rural depopulation was an increasing problem with local schools closing and young families leaving the area and how this affected the rural community.
One of the businesses who joined the meeting was Clee Tompkinson & Francis. The business was established in 1972 as a 3 office practice of estate agents, livestock auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors. The firm has now grown to become a 14 office professional practice which covers West, South & East Wales from Carmarthen in the West to Bridgend in the East. The roots of the firm lie in the agricultural sector, and they run 3 livestock markets - Llandovery, Sennybridge and Talybont.
Mickey Gough of Clee Tompkinson & Francis backed the sentiment of the FUW’s #FarmingMatters campaign, saying : “The prosperity of farming is critical to the viability of our livestock markets. Most of the our farming clients are upland beef and sheep farmers, and the reduction in stocking rates on hill farms witnessed in the last 20 years or so has obviously significantly reduced the turnover in our markets, particularly in the autumn breeding ewe and weaned calf sales where entries would be dramatically less than in the 1980s/1990s.
“If returns on farming in this area continue to decline, and stock numbers are reduced further, the viability of livestock markets would likely to be threatened.
“The whole fabric of small rural market towns is also under threat. Living as I do in Llandovery, which has witnessed the closure of the local secondary school and over a dozen local village primary schools in recent years, as well as 3 of the 4 main clearing banks, the only industry left providing employment is agriculture and forestry. The support industries to farming in the Llandovery such as ourselves, veterinary practices, agricultural machinery and feed merchants, together with accountants are all reliant on the prosperity of farmers.”
Delyth Davies, Ruminant Sales Specialist at Carrs Billington Agriculture added to the argument, saying: “We supply the farming community with a wide range of feeds and agricultural products. Our Brecon Branch currently employs 15 people which include office and yard staff, lorry drivers and sales persons. The business relies on the survival of the farming community. A thriving profitable agricultural economy is essential to our local communities and all of rural Wales to keep our young farmers farming for generations to come. Farming is the backbone of our country and we need to look after it for the country to thrive.”
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FUW Carmarthen County Chairman Iwan Price-Davies with Baroness Eluned Morgan AM[/caption]
Following the farm visit, Baroness Eluned Morgan AM said: “I had a really great afternoon on the farm. Thank you so much to Iwan Price-Davies, for inviting me. The #FarmingMatters campaign really highlights the importance of farming to the whole rural economy – not just the farming community.
“All of the local businesses who came along had such important points to share and experiences that must be drawn upon. For example, the closure of bank branches really impacts on small communities, cutting profit margins for businesses and removing vital employment. These are issues I’ll be looking at in more detail in the new year – to work with business and government to develop an economic model that works best for communities like ours in Mid and West Wales.”