Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan today repeated previous pleas to the Chancellor to slash fuel tax and introduce a fairer vehicle taxation system after numerous 4x4 vehicles had provided a lifeline to people living in the countryside during the current icy weather conditions.

"The treacherous Arctic weather conditions prevailing during the past fortnight have clearly illustrated how essential and important 4x4 vehicles have been. Without them whole areas of the countryside would have been no-go areas," said Mr Vaughan.

"I am taking this opportunity to urge the government once again to review its tax position on some types of non-luxury, work-horse types of 4x4s. They should no longer be described as 'Chelsea tractors' because time and time again they have provided a lifeline for fully stretched rural areas during severe weather conditions including flooding."

Mr Vaughan has already written to Mr Darling and his predecessors on numerous occasions regarding the impact fuel duty and vehicle taxation has on the viability of Welsh rural businesses and has regularly highlighted the necessity for an equitable system that reflects the unique needs of rural Wales.

"Welsh farmers and many other rural businesses are heavily reliant on 4x4s due to Wales' geography and topology, meaning that successive hikes in the taxation classes of such vehicles have a disproportionate impact on rural families and businesses.

"In view of the acute and growing pressure fuel price increases represent for rural businesses, not to mention businesses across the UK, I believe that we have reached a critical point at which action must be taken by the Chancellor to significantly reduce fuel tax in order to aid the economy.

"I also believe that an equitable vehicle taxation system must be introduced that recognises the stark differences between those who choose to drive 4x4s and those who do so out of necessity."

Support for the FUW's campaign arrived earlier this week when the Association of British Drivers (ABD) stressed the recent wet summers and snowy winters - that the Met Office's "global warming alarmists failed to predict" - had once again demonstrated the usefulness of owning a 4x4.

ABD stressed the extra traction can be a life saver in the dry, wet, mud or snow and on un-gritted roads but 4x4s had been attacked by so-called "environmentalists" using exaggeration, myths, "direct action" and punitive vehicle excise duty rates imposed by "our tax-hungry, anti-car government".

ABD environment spokesman Paul Biggs bought a Honda CR-V "soft-roader" in 2006 following the association's "Freezelock" prediction of severe winter conditions. "It has proved to be invaluable in summer floods due to its higher ground clearance and the extra traction certainly helps in snow or ice.

"I can also tow my touring caravan safe in the knowledge that I'm less likely to get stuck on muddy fields. For me, it's an ideal, roomy, safe, multi-purpose family vehicle.

"With potentially colder winters predicted for the next 20 to 30 years unjustifiably demonised 4x4 owners may yet have the last laugh on global warming alarmists and anti-car campaigners."

Mr Vaughan added: "Mr Biggs' experience proves that 4x4s are not for show and in the countryside they are absolutely essential. Owners should not be penalised for using their common sense and opting for such vehicles which have really proven their worth in the current cold snap."

The Farmers' Union of Wales today described its 10-year campaign for legislation to ensure supermarkets provide a fair deal for all their suppliers, including farmers, as a step nearer after the UK Government accepted the need to set up a Supermarket Ombudsman.

"Of course we welcome the Consumer Minister's announcement today that he has accepted the Competition Commission's recommendation for a body to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP)," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.

The code will come into force on 4 February and will be quickly followed by a consultation on how best to enforce it, including who that body might be and the powers it could have.

"Meanwhile, we are also supporting Anglesey MP Albert Owen's Private Member's Bill, introduced in Parliament last month, which will provide the perfect opportunity to appoint a Supermarket Ombudsman," said Mr Vaughan.

"Mr Owen's Grocery Market Ombudsman Bill will enable the Government to implement the Competition Commission's recommendation for the creation of a new independent arbiter with the power to settle disputes between major retailers and their suppliers.

"The Bill has received wide cross-party support and was sponsored by MPs from Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the SDLP. It has also been warmly welcomed by the FUW and a number of significant charities, consumer organisations and business groups.

"The FUW has repeatedly expressed major concerns regarding the dominance of major retailers over supply chains and believes there is significant evidence to suggest that such dominance has in many cases been abused to the detriment of suppliers and local economies.

"We have, therefore, campaigned for an enforceable and robust supermarket Code of Conduct and the introduction of a supply chain ombudsman for the past decade and have, on numerous occasions, provided evidence supporting these calls to the Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading.

"We welcomed last year's recommendations by the Competition Commission and believe that Mr Owen's Bill provides an ideal opportunity to take these forward. Therefore, we hope the cross-party support which already exists for the Bill will increase and ultimately result in an Act which addresses many of the concerns we have about unfair practices by supermarkets.

"Over the past three decades the proportion of food sold by supermarkets, rather than private outlets, has risen to around 75%, with the largest four supermarket chains controlling over 70% of sales. Competition Commission figures show that 65% of milk, 85% of beef, and 90% of lamb is sold through the multiple food retailers, with buying power being concentrated among a few companies.

"The power currently wielded by the major retailers represents a major challenge, not only for primary producers, but for the food sector in general.

"For this reason, the FUW has long argued that Government should take action to redress what is currently an imbalance between the powers held by primary producers, processors, and retailers, and that the first step towards doing this should be the appointment of a Supermarket Ombudsman responsible for enforcing a strict Code of Conduct."

An opportunity for Meirionnydd farmers to consider the future of their industry will be provided during the Farmers' Union of Wales' Meirionnydd county branch annual general meeting at the Ship Hotel, Dolgellau, on Friday 29 January at 7.30pm.

"We are fortunate this year to have the following speakers - Isabel Owen, head of the Caernarfon Divisional Office, Welsh Assembly Government; Sion Aron Jones, Hybu Cig Cymru industry development manager; and Emyr Williams, director of land management, Snowdonia National Park," said FUW's county executive officer Huw Jones.

"The theme for the meeting is 'Food, the environment and farm support - what is the future?'. This will be an opportunity, therefore, for us to consider the future direction of the industry.

"I will also be presenting a short report of the union's activities during 2009 at the start of the meeting. I am expecting a strong representation of members from all parts of the county."

The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) has welcomed Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones's confirmation today that the Welsh Assembly Government intends to proceed with a badger cull to combat bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) in Wales.

The decision to cull badgers in a limited Intensive Action Pilot Area (IAPA) in west Wales, which has already received overwhelming cross-party support from members of the National Assembly for Wales during plenary votes, marks the final Ministerial decision regarding the matter - notwithstanding the outcome of a legal challenge by the Badger Trust.

Welcoming the decision, FUW bTB spokesman Brian Walters, a Carmarthenshire organic dairy producer, said: "This final Ministerial decision marks an important step towards reducing bTB incidences in an area that has one of the highest rates of the disease in Europe.

"The work undertaken and commissioned by the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer shows that this decision is the right one, and the only one likely to result in significant falls in bTB incidences in an areas where badgers have been shown to have high levels of infection.

"It is supported by the science, and has therefore received the support of the Welsh Assembly Government and the overwhelming majority of Assembly Members from all political parties. However, it should not be forgotten that it is just one part of a host of measures being undertaken to combat bTB in Wales."

Mr Walters also expressed his concern that a legal challenge by the Badger Trust should not derail the Welsh bTB Eradication Programme. "It has taken a great deal of work to get to this position, but as time marches on the epidemic continues to grow.

"While the Badger Trust's legal challenge is disappointing, it comes as no surprise. However, it should not be allowed to derail the progress made to date, as a lengthy and drawn out court case would see the epidemic continue to escalate."

Mr Walters also hit out at misleading and inflammatory claims by animal rights organisation aimed at misleading public opinion. He said: "There seems to be no end to the unfounded and misleading statements being issued, by many of those who oppose the cull, which fly in the face of conclusive scientific evidence gathered over almost four decades.

"In areas where the disease is endemic in the badger population experience has shown that no amount of cattle controls will help without parallel moves to significantly reduce transmission from badgers.

"The Royal Society, the world's oldest and most respected science academy, has published work indicating that cattle movements are likely to be responsible for just 16 per cent of bTB herd outbreaks, and that 'High-risk spread is probably the result of cattle-badger-BTB interaction', and the English badger culling trials have succeeded in slashing bTB incidences by more than a half.

"There is no doubt that badgers are the major obstacle to controlling the spread of bTB to cattle and that badger culling works. Any talk about farming practices being a significant factor are unfounded and have been shown to be such following numerous initiatives aimed at cattle alone.

"The bottom line is that badgers and cattle share the same fields, yet we have been culling tens of thousands of cattle while ignoring the wildlife reservoir.

"It is also completely wrong to talk about the eradication of badgers - the aim is one that should be supported by all parties, namely to have healthy badgers and healthy cattle living alongside each other."

Today's announcement that an Anglesey meat plant plans to axe nearly half its workforce was described as a highly disappointing development by a Welsh farmers' leader who also expressed relief that the lamb slaughtering facility at the plant would remain operational.

"The loss of more than 200 jobs at Vion UK's Welsh Country Foods plant would be a serious blow for the island's economy and beyond, especially for the livelihoods of the workers and their families involved, but we are heartened that they will keep the slaughtering facility open," said Aeron Prysor Jones, chairman of the Farmers' Union of Wales livestock committee.

"We understand the Dutch-owned company plans to close the meat cutting operation at Gaerwen and transfer the retail packaging and distribution work to their plant at Winsford in Cheshire. We hope the economic climate will improve sufficiently for the Anglesey plant to return to a higher level of operation in the not too distant future."

WELSH Liberal Democrats leader Kirsty Williams called for increased government support for Welsh farmers when she addressed the Farmers' Union of Wales' Carmarthenshire county executive committee recently.

"In order to ensure a healthy economy, population and environment we must better promote and support our Welsh farming industry," the Brecon and Radnorshire AM told union members.

"With six out of every seven British hill farmers having no identified successor we must turn farming into a profitable and thriving industry, and make sure that this way of life does not die out with this generation.

"To secure the future of rural Wales we must ensure that our farmers and consumers get an honest and fair deal," said Ms Williams. "The promotion of food quality, more local procurement, furthering biodiversity and fair prices are the best kind of medicine for a healthier Wales.

"In difficult times such as this economic recovery starts at home, so consumers should be proud to 'Buy Welsh' and 'Buy Local'. Welsh farmers have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and supermarkets should pay fair prices for the high quality product they produce.

"Farmers don't want to be given subsidies, what they want is to receive a fair payment for their hard work. Supermarket greed is forcing farmers out of business.

"Whilst world food demand is set to double over the next 40 years we stand by helpless as we lose the capacity to produce it.

"Alongside international fair trade products we need to see Fair Trade for our Welsh farmers," Ms Williams said. "We need a legally binding supermarket code, enforced by an independent Food Market Regulator to enforce fair trade for farmers and to help this industry prosper as it should.

"This is especially crucial for the dairy sector that is under so much pressure at the present time. We need the Government to take action now to secure production in the Welsh milk field."

Ms Williams added that, like the FUW, she had grave concerns over the proposed implementation timescale of the new Welsh Assembly Government's Glastir scheme. "To date the details and consequences of this new scheme have not be fully worked out or tested.

"The Agriculture Minister must be prepared to listen to the concerns of the industry and delay implementation until there is clarity around the scheme that allows for individual farm business to plan for their future.

"In recent months we have seen much comment about the damaging effects of the methane from livestock on climate change. However, new pioneering work demonstrates that proper grassland management can be crucial in capturing carbon and thus Welsh farmers are well placed to play a key role in the Government's plans to address climate change."