Farmers' Union of Wales officials have organised political forums in Ceredigion and Denbighshire later this month in the lead up to the National Assembly elections on May 5.

Hustings will take place at Llannefydd Village Hall on Tuesday April 19 at 7.30pm to enable local farmers to hear candidates for the Aberconwy Constituency.

Antoinette Sandbach (Conservative), Eifion Lloyd Jones (Plaid Cymru) and Brian Cossey (Liberal Democrats) have already confirmed their intention to attend.

The union's Ceredigion county branch office has arranged a meeting for Wednesday April 27 at 8pm at Aberaeron Rugby Club.

Candidates who have already confirmed they are able to attend are Elin Jones (Plaid), Elizabeth Evans (Lib Dems), Luke Evetts (Con) and Chris Simpson (Green).

The Farmers' Union of Wales today advised Welsh businesses to contact the Police if they receive menacing telephone calls from anti badger-cull organisations or individuals.

A number of businesses around Wales have been contacted in the past few days and asked for details of their policy in terms of the proposed badger cull in north Pembrokeshire, and some have complained that the calls have been quite threatening and left some individuals quite shaken.

"These individuals or groups have no right to intimidate people in this way, and if people feel they have been harassed they should call the Police on the non-emergency 101 number," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.

"Businesses should not be bullied into holding an opinion on something when they have every right to stay neutral or keep their views private.

"Attempting to bully people into holding or revealing their opinions is something which should be stood up to. It is the type of tactic used in banana republics and there is no place for this type of threatening behaviour in our democratic society.

"People have every right to approve of, oppose or remain neutral on the badger culling issue while keeping their views private.

"Given the motives behind these calls, they are no different from trying to intimidate people into revealing who they intend to vote for in an election in order to try and sway the democratic process."

Mr Vaughan also urged people to stand strong in the face of such cowardly intimidation. "No one should bow to harassment by a small number of individuals.

"Whatever individual views people hold, the people of Wales should stand up to this type of tactic and show that they will not be bullied."

The Police have advised anyone who receives such calls to make a record of as many details as possible, including the time at which the call was made, the name of the individual who called them, and the number from which the call was made - which can be obtained by dialling 1471.

This information can then be provided in confidence to the Police by dialling 101 from any landline or mobile telephone.

The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed figures which show badger culling continues to result in major reductions in TB incidences up to four and a half years after the end of a cull.

Figures published yesterday in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, under the heading "Analysis of further data (to 25 February 2011) on the impacts on cattle TB incidence of repeated badger culling" show a 31.5% reduction in confirmed TB herd incidences in English badger culling areas over the four and a half year period after badger culling ended and a reduction of 37% in the six months to March 2011.

"These figures completely undermine previous claims that the positive effects of badger culling were not sustained in the long term after culling ended," said FUW vice president and TB spokesman Brian Walters.

"They also provide further evidence that the Welsh Assembly Government and National Assembly for Wales were right to support plans to cull badgers in north Pembrokeshire.

"The way in which the proposed north Pembrokeshire cull has been designed means the overall impact in that area is likely to be significantly better than the results seen in England.

"North Pembrokeshire has geographic boundaries and is almost three times the size of the English trial areas. All the scientific evidence published to date indicates that this will lead to reductions far higher than those seen in the English trial areas," said Mr Walters.

"The latest results from England show that scientists have previously been wrong to make sweeping statements about the impact of badger culling.

"When the Independent Science Group published its final report in 2007 we pointed out that the overall impact of culling would not be known for years, and were harshly critical of the politically loaded and unscientific claims made in the report.

"These comments continue to be quoted to this day by anti-cull campaigners, especially the claim that culling 'cannot meaningfully contribute' to future TB control.

"Yet the latest figures clearly show that culling continues to contribute to 'future' TB control, long after culling comes to an end, and we are still waiting for a scientific definition of the word 'meaningful'," Mr Walters added.

A plan to re-introduce a pair of European beavers into the Welsh countryside has been criticised by the Farmers' Union of Wales.

Ceredigion-based Wales Wild Land Foundation is in the process of building an enclosed habitat for the beavers at Artist's Valley, near Machynlleth, and is hoping to introduce the beavers this coming summer.

"The introduction of any non-native species into the country is a great concern for farmers in Wales," said FUW's land use and parliamentary chairman Richard Vaughan.

"We only have to look at the problems associated with the grey squirrel and rabbit, both non-native species, to see the potential for conflict in the future.

"The Union is also concerned at the problems Scotland is currently experiencing where beavers have escaped from private collections and are evading capture whilst travelling long distances, causing significant damage to trees.

"It seems a re-introduction of a species that has not been native to Wales since the 12th century is crazy .

"We are concerned that the introduction of these animals could ultimately cause conflict with agricultural and forestry management. If these animals should escape they are legally protected by EU legislation and, as currently reported in Scotland, controlling them could prove difficult.

"Recent experiences within the industry, particularly with regards to controlling the spread of bovine TB in wildlife, has left many farmers wary of any project that could introduce a potentially problem species into Wales," Mr Vaughan added.

[caption id="attachment_4294" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Gareth Vaughan[/caption]

The next Welsh Assembly Government and its AMs were urged to recognise the key role family farms can play in tackling the major challenges of our age when the Farmers' Union of Wales launched its election manifesto today.

The manifesto "Farming For All Our Futures" has been posted on the FUW's website www.fuw.org.uk and published in an eight-page bilingual supplement of the April edition of the union's monthly newspaper Y Tir/Welsh Farmer which is distributed to all members.

The manifesto - which includes sections on the Common Agricultural Policy, red tape and bureaucracy, bovine TB, local procurement, the rural economy, rural broadband, the environment, and more powers for Wales - can also be found on Y Tir/Welsh Farmer's website www.welshfarmer.com

Revealing the manifesto document, FUW president Gareth Vaughan told the union's finance and organisation committee, meeting in Aberystwyth today, that after the May 5 election the incoming AMs and Government will be faced with tackling a host of challenges - many unprecedented - with a significantly reduced budget.

With the world's population estimated to rise to nine or ten billion by 2050 and global agricultural productivity facing major challenges, he said, their policies must ensure we are prepared for the imminent challenges global warming, rising sea levels and peak oil production levels represent in terms of food security.

"The FUW believes that ensuring a vibrant and prosperous farming industry is pivotal to addressing these issues, and that at the centre of the picture lies a key entity which is often overlooked and undervalued, namely the family farm.

"Compared with other regions, I believe that Wales has genuinely benefited from successive administrations which recognise the importance of agriculture to our economy, landscape and culture.

"However, if Wales is to rise to these new challenges, our politicians must resist the temptation to introduce short-sighted policies which undermine the family farm, and those politicians who ignore the family farm do so at our peril."

Advances in the devolution process mean that those elected to the Assembly have significant control over Welsh agriculture and have a duty to lobby those at higher levels of government for what is best for Wales, Mr Vaughan added.

"The FUW's concerns and aspirations regarding the most significant of these issues are highlighted in this manifesto.

"The FUW is not affiliated to any political party and, therefore, has a duty to work with the government of the day and the opposition parties, irrespective of their political persuasions.

"For the period of the next National Assembly and beyond the FUW is committed to lobbying all those in Cardiff to ensure that agriculture and family farms receive the attention and respect that they warrant - for the sake of all our futures."

The Farmers' Union of Wales' Flintshire branch has arranged a meeting at the Stamford Gate Hotel, Holywell, on Monday April 18 (starting at 7.30pm) for local farmers to meet the prospective candidates for the Delyn constituency of the four main political parties in the Welsh Assembly Elections on May 5.

The four candidates present will be: Mathew Wright (Conservative); Carrie Harper (Plaid Cymru); Sandy Mewies (Labour) and Michelle Jones (Lib Dem).

FUW's Flintshire county executive officer Marian Jones said: "We hope that this will be an opportunity for the candidates to present their policies for the election and it will be a chance for people to question and discuss various issues with the prospective candidates.

"This is an important meeting as it is the way in which the agricultural industry can ensure the candidates are made aware of the various situation which concern the rural areas, such as the agricultural industry, affordable housing, various services in rural areas, and the policies of the Local Government."