[caption id="attachment_6314" align="alignleft" width="300"] (L-R) FUW Pembrokeshire County County Chairman David Nicholas , Green Party candidate Val Bradley, Labour candidate Dan Lodge, FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas, Plaid Cymru candidate John Osmond, Conservative candidate Paul Davies and Liberal Democrats candidate Bob Kilminster.[/caption]

The issue of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), bovine Tuberculosis and food security were hotly debated when Pembrokeshire farmers met their Welsh Assembly election candidates.

The meeting, which was held on Tuesday April 19, at the Mariners Hotel, Haverfordwest, welcomed Paul Davies (Conservative), Val Bradley (Green Party), Dan Lodge (Labour), Bob Kilmister (Liberal Democrat) and John Osmond (Plaid Cymru).

Each of the candidates were given 10 minutes to outline their party’s position with regards to the rural economy and agriculture’s role within it.

There was a split opinion on the panel when it came to the hot topic of bovine TB and the FUW’s call for a badger cull.

The Green Party candidate, Val Bradley, recognised the problem but suggested that a pharmaceutical approach would be more appropriate than a culling programme.

Labour Party candidate Dan Lodge, said the party would continue to act based on the evidence it receives and the Liberal Democrat candidate Bob Kilminster added that even though the topic of bTB was not covered in the party's election manifesto, he personally would prefer the option of allowing farmers to cull badgers on their own land versus a blanket cull.

Paul Davies, currently the AM for Preseli Pembrokeshire for the Conservative party, made his views clear that he would back the call for a badger cull. The sentiment was echoed by Plaid Cymru candidate John Osmond.

FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas, who chaired the meeting, reminded the election candidates of the Union’s call for the next Welsh Assembly Government.
“We strongly call on the next Welsh Assembly Government to properly balance the economic needs of farm businesses against the need to minimise disease transmission, and that the practicalities of farming in the real world are taken into full account when considering appeals against penalties and sanctions.

“The FUW further urges them to implement a badger culling policy at the earliest opportunity, in line with official ministerial advice previously received by the current Welsh Government, in order to replicate the positive outcomes seen in countries throughout the world.”

The discussion amongst Union members and other guests further turned to the topic of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones.

The FUW has been intensely involved in the review of NVZ designations in Wales and remains opposed to any further increases in designation.

FUW Pembrokeshire County County Chairman David Nicholas said: “Welsh Government are expected to increase the areas given over to NVZs and this includes a sizeable area in Pembrokeshire.

“The FUW reviewed the methodologies and conclusions with intense scrutiny and was able to present a case against designation in some cases. We will be meeting with the relevant bodies after the election in order to discuss the way forward.”

Given the lengthy delay in releasing both the NVZ designation consultation, and the consultation relating to the Action Programme measures, it will be important to ensure that there remains sufficient time for the appeals process that will follow the confirmed designations.

Talking about food security and the need for stricter regulation on supermarkets and local procurement, the FUW reminded the Pembrokeshire election candidates that the next Welsh Government needs to meet regularly with retailers and processors in order to encourage transparency and fairness within the food chain, and equitable practices and farmgate prices which support Wales’ farmers and economy.

All the party candidates were in agreement that more needed to be done to support Welsh food producers and that the Groceries Code Adjudicator needed more power to enforce more stringent controls on supermarkets.

Following the meeting, Brian Thomas said: “The continuing glut of milk within the EU has functioned to further weaken the position of dairy producers in the supply chain and cemented their position as price-takers.

“The steep decline in the number of Welsh dairy farmers will continue as long as supply chain profits aren’t shared equally.

“It remains imperative that the prices paid to producers not only cover the cost of production, but also provide room for investment in order to allow the sector to innovate and remain competitive.

“The FUW has repeatedly called for an expansion of the Groceries Adjudicator’s power to cover all dairy producers and not just the small minority on retailer aligned contracts.

“At present, retailer aligned contracts only account for about four percent of the milk produced in Wales and, as such, the majority of dairy producers are not covered by the remit of the Adjudicator.”

Delegates further discussed the importance of funding the YFC movement, the need to make it easier for young people to join the industry and debated the consultation on reducing the number of councils in Wales from 22 to eight or nine.

Concluding the evening, Brian Thomas reminded those present that 5500 jobs in Pembrokeshire were reliant on agriculture and that the next Welsh Government has to recognise the importance of the industry to the county.

If you missed the deadline to register to vote for the police and crime commissioner, and Welsh Assembly elections, then you still have time to make sure you can vote in the EU referendum.

The deadline to register to vote in the EU referendum is Tuesday, 7 June.

Young people especially need to check that they are registered to vote to make their voices heard in this critical debate, the outcome of which will affect them far longer than their parents and grandparents.

According to the latest YouGov report, there is a clear difference between age groups in regards to their intention on whether or not they will vote in the EU referendum and how they are likely to vote.

The survey revealed that just 48 % of 18-24 year olds but 77 % of those aged 65 plus said that they are certain to vote.

“What this shows us is that there is not a strong enough commitment from those under the age of 25 to even participate in the referendum.

“I would urge our young people to make the commitment to take to the polls. The decision made on the 23 June is going to have a long term effect on their future and therefore they should be the driving force behind this referendum,” said FUW Managing Director Alan Davies.

The survey further showed that young people are more likely to lean to staying in, but older people are more likely to turn out.

When asked, after having taken all factors into consideration how they would vote, 48 % of 18 to 24 year olds said they would vote to remain and 55 % of those aged over 65 would vote to leave the EU.

“There is a strong difference in opinion between the age groups and if our young people want to stay in the EU, then they have to make that clear in how they vote and actually vote.

“What was interesting was that 46 % of 18 to 24 year olds considered the effect on jobs, investment and the economy as the most important factor to base their decision on. Whereas those over the age of 65 were more concerned with immigration,” added Mr Davies.

In light of the above facts, the Union was further concerned that according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there was a significant drop in registered voters from 2014 to 2015 in Wales.

Figures showed that on 1 December 2014, 2,254,219 people (including attainers) were registered to vote in local government elections. That number dropped by over 46 thousand in 2015.

“This vote is very important to the future of our country. We must have the full spectrum of opinions in this referendum and that includes our rural and young voices.

“The final decision will affect the next generation more than half of those who are taking to the polls in June and I therefore urge the young people of Wales not to miss out on their chance to vote,” said the Union’s Managing Director Alan Davies.

Those living in Wales can register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

[caption id="attachment_6009" align="alignleft" width="200"] FUW president Glyn Roberts[/caption]

European farm ministers met on Monday (11 April) to adopt a regulation that will promote the consumption of milk products, fruit and vegetables in schools.

Disappointingly, the UK abstained from the vote and, as a consequence, will not be supporting the new regulation.

The scheme, which has an annual budget of €250m (£201m), will see supporting countries select agricultural products to supply to schools in an attempt to promote the qualities of both local food and healthy eating habits.

“This is hugely disappointing and represents a missed opportunity for the agricultural sector. Why did the UK abstain from the vote? A scheme like this is absolutely worth supporting, especially when we take the rise in child obesity into account,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

The current school fruit and vegetables scheme and the school milk scheme, which are separate at the moment, will merge into one from August 2017 under the new plans.

“If we consider the declining consumption of milk products amongst children why wouldn’t we support such a scheme?

“It is in all of our interests to educate our young people and small children about where their food comes from and what constitutes as a healthy diet,” added Mr Roberts.

Farm visits for children is another feature of the new scheme, along with a concerted emphasis on other educational activities.

“At a time when some children think their milk comes from a bottle in the supermarket and their meat from McDonalds, surely we owe it to the next generation to facilitate educational visits?,” said Mr Roberts.

“Welsh and UK produce should be available in our schools, hospitals, local authorities, leisure centres and nursing homes throughout the year.

“Other European countries are extremely good at promoting the relationship between agriculture and food.   For example, Italy is currently leading the way in Europe in improving school cafeteria standards under the “Gaining Health” program.

“Their Ministry of Health even set their own guidelines to promote a zero-mile approach, which means that schools have to source food locally. A model like this must be adopted here in the UK urgently,” added the Union President.

He added that the lack of support for this scheme confirms a key fear with regard to the lack of support for agriculture from UK government.

“As we approach the EU referendum, it has just become clearer how much support we could expect from our home government in regards to agriculture.

“If government can’t be in support of a scheme which promotes local produce then , how can we expect them to fully support our   rural economies and protect domestic food security if we leave the EU?”

The announcement made by the Electoral Commission that ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ is the official Remain campaign ahead of June’s EU referendum has been applauded by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW).

The FUW threw its weight behind the “Britain Stronger in Europe” campaign 2 months ago as the first farming union in the UK and will continue to work with the campaign Board in Wales to ensure that Britain remains a member of the European Union.

“The Union sees this as the optimal way to protect our rural economies, especially when it comes to support from the Common Agricultural Policy, which flows to farms and then inevitably to many local businesses,” said Union Managing Director Alan Davies.

The FUW echoed the campaign's executive director Will Straw’s sentiment, who was delighted that the Electoral Commission have recognised that Britain Stronger in Europe has the breadth of support, the unity of purpose and the campaigning organisation to be the official Remain campaign in the upcoming referendum.

“We are pleased to be an official partner of this campaign and will increase our efforts to make the argument to remain in the EU over the coming weeks.

“We are holding a number of EU debates over the coming weeks, details of which will be provided soon,” added Mr Davies.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed the Parliamentary submission by the National Police Chiefs Council to remove the ability of the RSPCA to prosecute animal welfare breaches and instead establish a statutory body funded by government to undertake this work.

“The FUW believes that the move would foster greater accountability and would remove the unacceptable and dangerous conflict of interest between many of the RSPCA’s political campaigns and its non-statutory role in animal welfare prosecutions,” said the Union’s Senior Policy Officer Dr Hazel Wright.

Indeed, the various conflicting roles of the RSPCA - as a lobby organisation, fundraiser and prosecutor - have been raised by the FUW in the past.  

The FUW has previously called for decisive action to be taken by the Charity Commission in relation to the RSPCA’s lobbying actions, which can only be described as “aggressive and threatening”.

In 2012, the RSPCA’s chief executive Gavin Grant described the charity as ‘the oldest law enforcement agency still in existence in this country’ and threatened to campaign to ‘stop consumers drinking milk’ if supermarkets were unable to differentiate between ‘badger friendly milk’ and milk from English badger cull areas.

“Over the past decade, the FUW has submitted numerous complaints to the Attorney General, Charity Commission and ASA regarding the RSPCA’s use of extreme and misleading rhetoric, warning that failure to take action would merely increase the organisation’s tendency towards militant action.

“The FUW would welcome involvement in the way in which animal welfare cases should be prosecuted in the future and has a dedicated Animal Health and Welfare Committee designed to shape policy on such issues,” added Dr Wright.

Procurement and renewable energy were at the top of the agenda when farmers from Glamorgan came together recently to question election candidates ahead of the Welsh Assembly elections.

Attending the meeting were Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour), Glenda Jones (UKIP candidate for Ogmore by-election), Andrew RT Davies (Conservatives), Denis Campbell (Liberal Democrats) and Tim Thomas (Plaid Cymru).

The event was held at St Mary’s Hotel, Bridgend and was chaired by FUW Glamorgan County Chairman Richard Walker.

There was a strong call for the next Welsh Government to ensure that more Welsh produce is sourced for hospitals and schools.

FUW Glamorgan County Executive Officer Rachel Saunders said: “Our food produce is grown and reared to the highest welfare standards across Europe. It should be a priority that home grown food is served at our dinner tables before imported food products fill our supermarket shelves.

“Welsh and UK produce should be available in our schools, hospitals, local authorities, leisure centres and nursing homes throughout the year. And it should be the first choice for supermarkets, restaurants and everyone else who has a role to play in the food chain.

“What we need, now more than ever, is a full commitment to local procurement. Our farmers have suffered enough from low farmgate prices over the years and they deserve to be fully supported by our home governments.”

The call for local procurement is underpinned by the FUW election manifesto and reminds all government departments and public bodies that they have a duty to support government priorities in terms of boosting Wales’ farming and food industry and sourcing local produce is definitely one of them.

Renewable energy as an option of diversification for farmers was also hotly debated on the night.

Following the meeting Richard Walker, Glamorgan County Chairman for the FUW, said : “For hundreds of years Wales’ mining, arable and woollen industries relied on renewable energy in the form of water and wind power, and by the end of the industrial revolution in the mid-19th Century no hamlet, however small, was complete without some form of mill.

“The revolution in renewable energy, brought about by recognition of the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, has resulted in the development of new commercially viable sources of renewable energy, such as solar panels, as well as improvements in the efficiency of wind and water power.”

Despite Wales’ being perfectly suited for some forms of renewable energy generation, the percentage of electricity generated in Wales from renewable stands at just 10 percent – 5 percent lower than the UK average, and the lowest of all the UK devolved regions.

Whilst the Union remains neutral in terms of the divisive issue of large-scale wind farms, as laid out in the FUW election manifesto, we fully support the development of appropriate on-farm renewable energy sources, and believe Wales has only scratched the surface in terms of the contribution Welsh farms can make to green energy production.

“The decision in 2015 by the UK Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, which has responsibility for major national energy projects, to suddenly and drastically reduce support for renewables not only compromises our ability to help mitigate climate change, but has also led directly to farmers and others losing significant sums already invested in unfinished projects,” added Mr Walker.

In light of this the Union further called on the next Welsh Government to seek alternative and innovative ways in which funding can be provided in order to develop on-farm energy production and identify those barriers to on-farm energy production which fall within the remit of Welsh Government.

The Union further calls on the next Welsh Government to reduce bureaucratic burdens which prevent or add to the financial and time burdens which prevent developments for on-farm energy production.

Other questions put to the candidates focused on how RDP money is spent in Wales, what business rate relief schemes each party would propose to introduce and members stressed the fact that more support was needed for young farmers in Wales.