Farmers Weekly Awards celebrate the very best of British farming by recognising and rewarding innovation, hard work and passion for agriculture.

The Awards, now in their 13th year, provide an opportunity to showcase the best farmers in the country by telling their stories.

There are fifteen categories spanning the full breadth of the farming industry; from contractor to farm adviser; sheep to arable and diversification to dairy and they are calling for nominations to the 15 categories, encouraging entries by 30 April.

The Categories are:

AG STUDENT

ARABLE FARMER

BEEF FARMER

CONTRACTOR

DAIRY FARMER

DIVERSIFICATION

FARM ADVISER

FARM MANAGER

FARMWORKER

MIXED FARMER

PIG FARMER

POULTRY FARMER

SHEEP FARMER

SPECIALIST CROP PRODUCER

YOUNG FARMER

If you know of someone who you think is doing a sterling job and is going beyond and above - why not nominate them for one the of the categories?

Here are five good reasons to enter:

Recognition for you, your family and your team
Opens doors to new industry contacts, clients and supplier deals
Valuable PR and marketing for your business
Greater business confidence and negotiating power
The chance to experience the best night out in farming for you and your partner

More details and to enter can be found on the Farmers Weekly website

The FUW strongly encourages all poultry keepers, even those with fewer than 50 birds, to provide their details to the Poultry Register.

This will ensure you can be contacted immediately, via email or text update, in an avian disease outbreak enabling you to protect your flock at the earliest opportunity.

You must register poultry flocks of 50 or more birds that you own or are responsible for. They don’t have to all be the same species. This applies even if your premises are only stocked for part of the year.

You should register your poultry within one month of their arrival at your premises.

By email:

Complete the registration form (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-keeping-customer-registration ) and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are guidance notes to help you complete the form. Welsh versions of the registration form and guidance notes are also available.

By phone:

Ask for a registration form by contacting the GB Poultry Register Helpline on 0800 634 1112.

Lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Thursday, and 8:30am to 4:30pm on Friday.

The new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone requires all keepers to complete a self assessment of biosecurity measures on their premises (available for download at http://gov.wales/topics/environmentcountryside/ahw/disease/avianflu/?lang=en ).

The objective is to keep domestic flocks totally separate from wild birds by continuing to keep birds housed or using other measures, which may include permitting controlled access to outside areas, subject to the introduction of additional risk mitigation measures.

Keepers of poultry and other captive birds in the new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone must ensure:

They complete the Welsh Government Avian Influenza Prevention Zone Self Assessment Form.

They adopt one or more of the following:

(i) house their birds
(ii) keep totally separate from wild birds, by use of netting etc
(iii) allow controlled access to outside areas, subject to applying additional risk mitigation measures.

Wild birds cannot access bedding, feed and water intended for poultry and other captive birds.

Any person who comes into contact with poultry and other captive birds must take all reasonable precautions to avoid the transfer of contamination between premises, including cleansing and disinfection of equipment, vehicles and PPE and the changing of boots/footwear between houses/different areas of site.

Steps are taken to reduce the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry or captive birds are kept to minimise contamination between premises. Robust records must be maintained of any movements in or out of the poultry or other captive birds area.

Vermin control programmes are implemented, including making the area and buildings where poultry or captive birds are kept inaccessible and unattractive to wild birds.

Housing and equipment is thoroughly cleansed and disinfected at the end of a production cycle.

The area where poultry or other captive birds are kept is regularly checked for signs of wild bird access and appropriate corrective action taken immediately.

Boot dips using approved disinfectants at the appropriate concentration, must be kept at all points where people must use it, such as, but not limited to,  farm entrances and before entering poultry housing or enclosures.

Domestic waterfowl (ducks and geese) are kept separately from, and cannot make contact with, other domestic species.

Regular health checks of the birds are completed and any changes in bird health are discussed with a private veterinary.  If a notifiable disease is suspected then this should be immediately reported to APHA.

The site is regularly inspected and kept clean, any spillages are immediately cleaned.

If you suspect any strain of avian flu you must tell your nearest Animal and Plant and Health Agency (APHA) office (in Wales, contact 0300 303 8268) immediately. Failure to do so is an offence.

Detail on how to register your poultry can be found here.

The announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs that a new Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will be in place from midnight on the 28th of February until the 30th of April this year means that bird keepers in Wales could be faced with important decisions regarding how and when to house their flocks.

One issue of great concern to keepers is the potential loss of their free range status and the FUW therefore welcomes the decision to allow keepers to maintain their free-range status within the new all-Wales Prevention Zone, if certain additional risk mitigation measures are adhered to.  This allows the keeper to select the disease prevention programme best suited to their business needs.

We would remind keepers of poultry to remain vigilant for any signs of this significant disease.  Avian Influenza is a notifiable disease, and keepers should report any suspicion of disease to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. In addition, all poultry keepers, irrespective of the size of the flock, can pass their details to the Poultry Register in order to receive updates on the disease.

The current Prevention Zone requires all keepers of poultry and other captive birds to:

• keep their birds indoors
• or take all appropriate steps to keep them separate from wild birds, and to enhance biosecurity.

This follows a number of confirmed cases of avian flu - H5N8 strain - across the UK, including in a backyard flock of chickens and ducks near Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire.

How to spot AI
There are two types of AI – high pathogenic and low pathogenic. The one to look out for is H5N8 strain, which is high pathogenic.

High-pathogenic AI (HPAI)
HPAI is the more serious type. It is often fatal in birds. The main clinical signs are:

• Swollen head
• Blue discolouration of neck and throat
• Loss of appetite
• Respiratory distress such as gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, gurgling, rattling
• Diarrhoea
• Fewer eggs laid
• Increased mortality

Clinical signs can vary between species and some may show minimal clinical signs (ducks and geese).

More information on what this means for you can be found here

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has repeated its concerns about the negative impact planned business rates increases will have on the agricultural sector in Wales and on the wider rural economy of Wales.

As a result of re-valuations based on 2015 prices, many businesses in Wales will face a change in the rates they pay after April. This will impact on many farmers who have diversified in recent years, but what is becoming clearer is the potential knock-on effect this will have on farmers who sell their livestock at markets in Wales.

“We’ve heard reports from livestock markets that their rates are about to rise by nearly 100% and when you try and work out how they will pay that bill it is quite clear. The money will come from increased commission in the marts which will therefore hit all farmers,” said Brian Thomas, Deputy President of the FUW.

“We appreciate that the Welsh Government has made funding available, which will be distributed by local authorities, in addition to the Welsh Government's £10m transitional relief scheme and its Small Business Rates Relief Scheme worth £100m.

“However, there’s no way we can realistically expect somewhere like a livestock market to absorb such costs. They have no other clear source of income than commission payments, so this punitive tax will impact every farmer that sells stock through those markets,” Mr Thomas added.

The FUW will continue to fight to ensure that tax regimes do not hit rural Wales more widely than is strictly necessary.

The uniqueness of Welsh agriculture and the importance of involving the devolved administrations in planning the future of agriculture have today been reiterated by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), following a speech made by DEFRA’s Andrea Leadsom.

Whilst the FUW welcomed some of the points made by the Environment Secretary, such as the acknowledgement that the industry will need financial support after having made an exit from the European Union and tariff-free access to the European markets, it was disappointing to note the lack of recognition for devolved administrations and the crucial role they need to play in devising a UK wide framework for agriculture.

The Union has previously welcomed the recognition of the role devolved administrations should play in planning for our departure from the European Union, when Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her 12 point Brexit plan, and her recognition that Wales is different to the rest of the UK.

FUW Managing Director Alan Davies said: “Andrea Leadsom stated that she will be meeting with each of the Ministers from the devolved administrations in Edinburgh on Thursday, February 23, but we need those in Westminster to fully understand that the complex political principles at stake here, can only be resolved through cooperation and collaboration between all 4 nations of the United Kingdom. And more importantly, until those principles are resolved we cannot be clear as to who will have primacy of decision making in the long term.

“The Prime Minister has previously said that there will be no landgrab of powers from devolved nations and that means that the Welsh Government will be responsible for all agriculture policy, a position we welcome. But we also recognise the need to create and work within a UK Framework that enables and constrains the UK administrations in a way that creates a healthy yet stable home market in the UK.”

The FUW has since the referendum result last year stressed that the UK post-Brexit needs to put a UK agricultural framework in place which prevents unfair competition between devolved regions and secures and protects adequate long term funding for agriculture, while also respecting devolved powers over agriculture.

“We ask what sort of industry we want to be and what sort of country we want to be and the answer is really quite obvious - agriculture in the UK and in Wales has to be profitable and sustainable and the important role family farms play in making the wheels of the rural economy go round have to be recognised and we must recognise that Wales is not the same as England in terms of need, product and social importance of agriculture.

“The FUW is in agreement that we can have a prosperous future for the sector once we leave the EU and that there are plenty of opportunities to be explored but a lot of it depends on the willingness of our politicians in Westminster to recognise how different farming across the devolved nations is and that they have very different requirements,” added Alan Davies.