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FUW members meet Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire AM Angela Burns[/caption]
Farmers' Union of Wales members in Carmarthenshire expressed their concerns at the Welsh Government's failure to drive the bovine TB eradication programme forward when they met Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire AM Angela Burns recently.
"During the meeting we were pleased to hear that Mrs Burns' views on this issue echoed our own concerns," said Ian Rickman, chairman of the union's Carmarthenshire county executive committee.
Mrs Burns told the committee she too was very concerned that the eradication programme had lost momentum.
"There was a moment in time when the Assembly overwhelmingly supported the Government, the chief veterinary officer and the scientists yet a mere 90 days later the new environment minister, who is now the person in charge of animal welfare, called a sudden halt to the programme," she said.
"It's a complete about turn and leaves the dairy farming industry in confusion and concern," added Mrs Burns, who stressed farming must be recognised as an essential business.
Mr Rickman said the union agreed that the main objective of the agricultural industry is food production and maintaining rural family life whilst caring for the environment.
"It is a specialised industry which must be protected," he added.
Mrs Burns also expressed concern that the proposed CAP reform could have a dramatic affect on Welsh farms and that the negotiations needed to be fair to all.
She feared the Welsh Government's decision to put rural affairs under a deputy minister answerable to the Minister for Business and leaving the significant challenge of animal health with the Minister for the Environment would have a damaging effect on farming.
The committee also discussed whether large dairy units were acceptable. It was felt an honest debate must be held between producers and consumers and Mrs Burns accepted that large herds in traditional village farms had to ensure their environmental management was rigorous.
Further discussion took place on a number of other topics such as ground water regulations and the requirement for wider buffer strips near water courses.
Members maintained the countryside has been shaped by farming practices over centuries and if livestock did not graze the uplands there would be a dramatic affect on the landscape.
Mrs Burns felt it was important that production and processing should be kept locally to contribute to the local economy.
Members also raised the issue of the rural road system and infrastructure. They believed funding should be made available to improve rural roads rather than finance improved links between Wales and Heathrow.