The Farmers' Union of Wales has selected Wales Air Ambulance as its chosen charity for 2010, it was announced at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair (November 30-December 1).

The union's president Gareth Vaughan said the air ambulance service was a most appropriate and fully deserving cause for a national organisation representing rural areas such as the FUW. "It a registered charity, wholly dependent on public donations.

"The annual cost of sustaining their three air bases, which cover the whole of Wales from Caernarfon, Welshpool and Swansea airports, is £5m and only through continued public support are they able to meet these targets. Due to Wales’ widely scattered population and diverse landscape, there is a proven need for their helicopters to be fully operational throughout the year.

"I am well aware the Air Ambulance has been a lifesaver time and time again in all parts of rural Wales and as a representative of the farming industry I and my fellow FUW officials are proud to be associated with such a vital service and we will do all we can to raise as much money as possible throughout 2010."

Wales Air Ambulance chief executive Angela Hughes said: “We are delighted that the Farmers' Union of Wales has chosen Wales Air Ambulance as their nominated charity.
"Our ability to reach rural locations when time really matters has meant that we have had a long standing association with the farming community in Wales, and this is a fantastic opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between the charity and the rural communities that we serve.

"Active support from the public plays an important role in ensuring that we meet the huge cost of keeping our helicopters flying, and we are proud to be linked with such a prominent investor in the community.

"This exciting partnership will not only help increase awareness of the work of the ambulance crews, but also ensure that we continue to provide a lifesaving service across Wales, and we are looking forward to working with the union and its members over the coming year.”

Wales Air Ambulance is a registered charity providing emergency air cover 365 days a year for those who face life-threatening illness or injuries. Since its launch on St David’s Day in 2001, its three red helicopters, stationed in Mid, North and South Wales, respond to around 1,500 emergencies a year, saving countless lives across Wales.

Owing to the diversity of the landscape in Wales, the "helimed" service is vital for reaching both the remote countryside and busy towns and cities when time really matters. From mountain tops to back gardens, the helicopters can be anywhere in Wales within just 20 minutes.

In heavily congested urban areas, the ability to land within close proximity of the patient has proved critical in response to road traffic accidents. Equally, a helicopter can make a vital difference in rural locations, saving valuable time in areas where a land ambulance simply can not reach.

There are two advanced life support paramedics on each aircraft trained in the latest techniques in pre-hospital emergency care ensure the patient receives the most effective treatment for his or her condition. It is widely believed that a patient’’s chances of survival and early recovery are significantly increased if they receive the right care within the first hour, otherwise known as the "Golden Hour".

The fast response times of the Air Ambulance crews and their ability to reach such difficult locations increases the chances of a patient receiving definitive care within the this crucial hour.

The charitable service does not receive direct funding from central government. Additionally, due to its role as an emergency service, it also fails to qualify for National Lottery Funding. The money is therefore raised through charitable donations, fundraising events, and membership of their lifesaving lottery.

Wales Air Ambulance operates all over Wales and so any money donated to the charity will be used to assist people in their local community in their time of dire need.

The Farmers' Union of Wales has teamed up with Dalton ID Systems to offer its members a discount scheme for cattle and sheep tags that is being launched at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair (November 30-December 1).

The deal provides a 10% discount on Dalton cattle tags, free replacements when ordered from January 1, a 24-hour replacement service, and a free applicator with the first order.

And due to the potential combined buying power of thousands of farmers the union has also managed to negotiate a discount of up to 35% on the costs of electronic tags for sheep if ordered before March 31.

"We in Dalton ID Systems are fully aware that farmers are unhappy with the introduction of electronic tagging of sheep," said the company's UK national sales and business development manager Tudur Wynne.

"However, I'm looking forward to working closely with the union. This deal has meant that we could negotiate with our suppliers to reduce the cost of the materials and therefore reduce the cost of implementing EID on farms across Wales.

"It proves the proverb 'mewn undeb mae nerth' (in union there's strength)," Mr Wynne added.

Dalton was established in 1947 and, despite becoming a worldwide recognised brand, has remained a family-owned business for over 60 years. It was the first company to patent and produce two-piece plastic ear tags.

FUW business development director Emyr James, who helped negotiate the scheme, said: "During the Winter Fair we will have examples of the tags and supporting literature on display on our stand in the Livestock Complex Hall. Details of the ordering procedures for tags are also available at all FUW county offices."

The farming industry and government must act without delay to attract younger people into agriculture in Wales where the average age of farmers is 58, the 19-year-old winner of the Farmers' Union of Wales student bursary has demanded.

Iestyn Russell, who is studying rural enterprise and land management at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire, chose to write a 1,000-word essay on the topic "What should the Welsh farming industry and government do to attract more young people into agriculture?" as his submission for the £700 bursary.

"This question has been the subject of debate for several years. We need to deal with the problem now or our industry will face major problems in the future," the Lampeter farmer’s son wrote.

He added: "Rural Wales’ young people are quite prepared to bridge the gap and take responsibility, but we must ask why they are not offered a chance to move forward within agriculture in Wales.

"Older farmers must take a step back and give young people a chance to experiment with their own ideas. But what encourages this to happen? Not a lot at the moment, but there are plenty of possibilities.

"Firstly, the profile of agriculture has to be raised in the public’s eyes. Farmers in this country do not get the respect, praise or the price they deserve, so this would be a good place to start. An advertising campaign on the television and in the daily newspapers would be worth considering.

"Perhaps the public would be willing to pay more for local produce and support Welsh farmers instead of buying imported food. They should be aware of the high level of care farmers in this country give their stock and they, therefore, deserve a better price for better produce."

Iestyn, an enthusiastic member of Cwmann YFC and this year's Wales YFC best junior stockman, also worked on the family's dairy and sheep farm at Cwmann, near Lampeter, and on a neighbouring beef and sheep farm before deciding to go to university to study for a degree "but my dream of farming is still as real as ever".

Speaking for the bursary scheme's judging panel, FUW agricultural education and training committee chairman Alun Edwards said they were very impressed with the way Iestyn expressed himself during his interview and in his written submission.

"We were confident that his broad knowledge of the industry will serve him well in the future. The submissions of the other award winners were also of a high standard."

Iestyn suggested other ways to attract more young people into farming could include schemes to assist the transfer of farms from the older generation to the younger generation. "Would some sort of pension scheme for the more experienced farmers work?

"Farmers could be offered a pension scheme to enable them to retire earlier, at 55 years old for example. Or keep the age as it is at present but offer them more money.

"Some sort of a succession scheme which would make the process of changing the people who run or own a farm easier would be a good idea. It would motivate both parties and avoid a long, drawn out process which is slow and expensive.

"This would mean looking closely at the rules of inheritance tax. One idea would be to reduce the rate if one member of the family was going to carry on farming the farm."

He acknowledged that the Welsh Assembly Government recently announced a scheme to support people under 40 years of age to make a living out of agriculture by offering a one-off payment of £15,000 to cover the costs new farmers face when they establish themselves as head of a holding for the first time.

"They also offer support to encourage share farming or joint ventures between young people. And another part of the scheme is that young farmers are mentored by an older, more experienced farmer.

“I believe that this is an excellent idea as it combines the new ideas and enthusiasm of young people with the older farmers’ experience and knowledge."

Iestyn stressed that depopulation, especially of young people, in rural areas had been a problem for years. Young people can find better, cleaner jobs elsewhere with more spare time and, more importantly, more money.

"Farming is one of the hardest jobs and, therefore, people who do this job deserve a fair wage. Unfortunately, the prices farmers receive are not enough and a fairer price is needed.

"The Government could set a threshold below which prices could not drop. This would not be favourable to the public or to private processing companies, but it would benefit the milk industry and this could offer a solution and prevent farmers from ceasing milk production.

"A ban on cheap imported foods would mean that farmers in this country could be better supported in order to increase production levels to satisfy the demand for food. It’s likely that this would create more jobs on farms and would reward farmers for their hard work.

"The Government could reduce some of the paper work which cripples and takes up farmers’ time. This would make the industry more attractive for young people to enter and more time would be spent on the land instead of in an office.

"There are numerous ways to tackle this old problem, but something needs to be done at once to give young people a fair chance. The responsibility not only lies with the Government and the industry, but also with the current and future farmers."

Runner-up to Iestyn is 19-year-old David Evans, of Groeswen Farm House, Groeswen, Cardiff, who has just started a four-year agriculture BSc degree course at Aberystwyth University. He receives £200.

Third is 22-year-old Manod Williams, of Tregerddan, Bow Street, near Aberystwyth, who has also just embarked on a BSc course in agriculture with animal science at Aberystwyth. He receives £100.

Welsh dairy farmers are demanding better prices for their milk following a big improvement in world and EU markets for butter, milk powder, cheese and cream over the past few months.

"We understand that there is, inevitably, a delay between increasing world prices and those in the UK but this should be reflected in our milk cheques much sooner than it is," said the chairman of the Farmers' Union of Wales milk and dairy produce committee, Anglesey farmer Eifion Huws.

World butter and milk powder markets started rising in July, with the EU following about a month later, and even in the past month butter has increased by $600/t (20 per cent).

The rise is far greater for whole milk powder with New Zealand co-op Fonterra's monthly on-line auction price soaring by 88 per cent in just four months to $3,400/t. Meanwhile, cream prices have more than doubled since February to a record £1700/t, representing an income of 9.6p per litre (ppl).

"But the processors are crying wolf and making all kinds of excuses for not passing these increases down the chain to the producers," said Mr Huws.

"According to the latest Defra figures, the UK farm gate milk price this year ranged from 20.60ppl in May to 25.56ppl in January. Since then the world and EU prices have shot up but the UK farmgate price in September of 24.05ppl was still 2.50ppl lower than for September last year.

"The milk buyers are hiding behind all sorts of reasons for not passing on their profits to farmers yet they pay regular lip service in support of a long-term sustainable future for the sector.

"But faced with ever-increasing costs dairy farmers are increasingly leaving the industry - the number of dairy farms in Wales dropped by 670 between 2005 and 2008 and there are now barely 2,000 left. If processors don't play their part they may soon discover most of their loyal suppliers will have disappeared altogether."

The Farmers' Union of Wales today described a 43-9 vote by Assembly Members in support of The Tuberculosis Eradication Order 2009 as a victory for common sense and democracy.

The Order gives the Assembly Government the powers to use culling and vaccination of badgers as part of its bTB eradication programme.

Speaking after sitting through the debate, FUW's TB spokesman Brian Walters said: “Assembly Members have already supported the principle of badger culling more than once, and this vote ratifies the cross-party support for that policy.

“During a recent consultation on this issue, 85% of Welsh respondents were in agreement that culling should be considered as part of a bTB control strategy, and I am glad that AMs have recognised the need to act in order to prevent the spread of this devastating disease.”

However, Mr Walters, a Carmarthen organic dairy farmer, was concerned that some AMs had allowed themselves to be persuaded to vote against the Welsh Assembly Government.

“Some of those who spoke in support of annulling the Order had clearly failed to understand the scientific evidence on this issue and some AMs even suggested that there was no established link between bTB in cattle and badgers, which goes against the opinion of every single expert on the matter.

“The chairman of the Rural Affairs Sub Committee, Alun Davies, made a crucial point that, when you analyse the evidence properly, as his committee has done, it points to infected badgers being largely responsible for the epidemic we are now facing.”

Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones told AMs that the order had been laid following a 14-week public consultation and was fully supported by scientific evidence.

Last year, over 12,000 cattle were culled in Wales because of bTB and nearly £25 million was spent in compensation. Wales has already slaughtered over 8,000 cattle this year. This time last year it was just over 7,000.

By 2014, the cost to the taxpayer could be £80 million if action to eradicate TB in cattle is not taken.

THIS year's winner of the Farmers' Union of Wales-United Counties Agriculture and Hunters Society annual award to the person making the most outstanding contribution to agriculture in Carmarthenshire is David Lloyd who has been a member of the society for over 40 years.

Mr Lloyd of Dolgwili, Glangwili, near Carmarthen, is a past chairman and president of St Peters YFC and club leader for over 20 years. He has also been a member of the Welsh Dairy Show committee for over 20 years and assistant chief steward for the last eight years.

He works with his wife Hefina for J J Morris Auctioneers in Cardigan.
He received his award during the Welsh Dairy Show's 20th anniversary dinner from FUW's Carmarthenshire county executive officer Meinir Bartlett.

During the dinner, a second award was made to Ronnie Thomas of Uwch Gwili, Peniel Road, Carmarthen, for his continued long voluntary service of over 40 years to the society. Mr Thomas received a framed photograph from the society's president Roger Evans.