When we think of St David’s Day many things might come to mind not least of which will be those iconic ingredients for Welsh Cawl: Lamb and Leeks. And whilst the quality of Welsh Lamb is well recognised throughout Wales it is also increasingly being recognised further afield.

In Europe in particular, where the market for Welsh meat is worth close to £200 million a year with a significant proportion of that being for lamb, there is a fast growing market for Welsh lamb as a niche premium product.

“There’s no doubt that its Protected Geographical Indication Status, which guarantees a genuinely authentic product is highly important,” said Alan Davies of the Farmer’s Union of Wales.

“But we’ve known for years that the combination of our brilliant farmers, along with some of the lushest grass in the world and a plentiful supply of rain, all combine to produce a great product.

“We heard only recently from Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales that Welsh Lamb is gaining ground in Germany where is it marketed as a niche, premium product, and rightly so. It is a wonderful product, taking the German market by storm.”

Access to EU markets, especially with regards to lamb exports, is vitally important for Welsh agriculture. Officials figures showed that in 2014, approximately 35 percent of sheep meat produced in Wales was exported to the European Union.

“We need to be able to guarantee access to this market freely and that is only possible if we remain in the EU. Yes the EU is not perfect, we know that. But being part of it brings with it so many positive benefits that ensure a prosperous and economically viable rural Wales. We must not jeopardise that position.”

A Fair Trade Big Breakfast has been organised by the Anglesey branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales in support of the National Fair Trade campaign “Sit down for breakfast, stand up for farmers!”.

The breakfast will be held on Wednesday, March 9 at Cartio Môn Karting, Bodedern starting at 9am.

Joining the breakfast will be representatives of Fair Trade Wales, FUW President Glyn Roberts will talk about fair prices for Welsh Farmers and FUW Senior Policy Officer Dr Hazel Wright  will provide an update on climate change and how it has affected Welsh farming.

In 2008 Wales became the first ever “Fair Trade Nation” and the FUW announced its support for Fair Trade at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in December that year.

Since then the FUW has been working closely with Fair Trade Wales to highlight the need for farmers all over the world to get paid a fair price so that food security can be achieved across the globe.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “While our produce and farming methods are on the one hand extremely different, there are many similarities between major issues of concern.

“Despite our differences, the principle that a farmer should receive a fair price for his produce transcends international boundaries, and is one that we should all support, whether as individuals or as organisations – and this principle should also extend to procurement by public bodies.”

Mr Roberts further added that following this principle recognises ways of supporting small scale producers – whether in underdeveloped countries of the Third World or right here in Wales.

The FUW believes Welsh farmers who want a fair price for their lambs in the market should also want a fair price for coffee farmers in other countries.

FUW Anglesey County Executive Officer Heidi V Williams, who has organised the Fair Trade Big Breakfast,  said: “I am  looking forward to holding this event which will demonstrate the backing of this worthwhile national campaign on a local level and highlight the issues facing the industry and the importance that farmers are paid a fair price for their produce.”

To book your seat around the breakfast table contact the FUW Anglesey office on 01248 750250.  Breakfast tickets are £10 per head with all proceeds going to British Heart Foundation.

A contingency plan for agriculture should the UK vote to leave the European Union on June 23 is absolutely essential according to the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

“Defra Minister George Eustice recently hinted what a contingency plan for agriculture could look like but there are apparently no firm or detailed plans in the pipeline and what is being said is little better than speculation,” said FUW Managing Director Alan Davies.

The Union’s renewed call for a plan B comes after Mr Eustice implied a system similar to current area payments would 'probably' be kept, with accreditation schemes that farmers could enroll in automatically rather than having an annual application process.

Mr Eustice also suggested the budget allocated to farm payments - which has already been cut significantly - could be slashed by around a third.

“Mr Eustice's indication that the payment budget could be cut so significantly will for many confirm a key fear that support for rural areas will diminish if we leave the EU - after all, successive UK Governments have been at the forefront of moves to reduce the CAP budget for years," said Mr Davies.

"Many may also fear that Mr Eustice's £2 billion figure is far higher than what would eventually be allocated."

Mr Davies also highlighted the uncertainty in terms of what proportion of such a figure would come to Wales.

"If Wales' proportion of a £2 billion budget reflected current allocations, Wales would be worse off by about £85 million per annum. The impact for our rural communities and supply chains would be devastating.

"Of course there are things that could be done differently should we leave the EU but at the moment we are still in the dark and we have already urged the Welsh and UK Governments to come up with contingency plans to secure the future of Welsh farming" said Mr Davies.

“We have said it before and we will say it again, leaving the EU is not a policy that the Union supports. We have yet to see any evidence that leaving the EU will have any significant impact on the rules and regulations that many criticise.

“We do have plenty of evidence published by successive UK Governments that support for farming, rural communities and food security will quickly dissolve once we are outside the EU,” added Mr Davies.

"We have yet to see any clear evidence that key political players have done a U-turn over such policies.

Mr Eustice, who’s campaigning to leave the EU, is at direct odds with Defra secretary Liz Truss, who has warned that such a move would be a leap into the dark - a sentiment that is echoed by the FUW.

“Even though it's commendable that Mr Eustice is having a go at putting a contingency plan out there, at the moment there is absolutely no meat on the bones, in particular in terms of the impact for those who derive an income from agriculture, and the thousands of secondary and tertiary businesses which rely on agriculture.” added Mr Davies.

The Union believes that voters need to have all the details ahead of the June referendum in order to make an informed decision and will continue to bring as much information to the table as possible in the upcoming EU debates.

The Carmarthen branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales has put the spotlight on rural crime by hosting four successful information evenings across the county with PCSO Martin Dickenson, who is the Rural Liaison Officer for Carmarthen and St. Clears.

During the meetings Mr Dickenson provided information on rural crime, preventative measures such as CCTV, preventative gate theft, suspicious sales persons and general advice pertaining to a number of crime and rural matters - which was well received by members.

Further information was provided on tractor driving and related laws.

Before joining the police Mr Dickenson worked on farms as an Artificial Inseminator for Genus and Progen amongst other jobs in and around agriculture.

He grew up on a dairy farm in Wiltshire and currently runs a 72 acre beef and pig farm with his wife Nicky in Llanpumsaint, where they are developing a business selling meat boxes from their own stock.

Nicky currently works for Tysul vets in Llandysul as well as running her children’s clothing business and assisting on the farm when time allows.

FUW Carmarthenshire County Executive Officer David Waters said: “Because of his farming background Martin has been able to converse with members effectively and has shown that he understands the issues they face. He has a strong interest in all rural issues and like the FUW, feels the police force should be engaging with farmers groups.

“Members have now been provided with information leaflets on rural crime matters such as sheep worrying and we look forward to cementing our relationship with the rural police force to make the countryside a safer place.”

The call from Ofcom for BT to open up its cable network for competition has today been welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The Union has long been campaigning for internet services to improve across Wales and has voiced its concern in terms of a lack of competition repeatedly to the communications watchdog.

The FUW has collaborated with Ofcom in providing a platform for discussion on the wide ranging communications issues facing rural Wales for many years and has held many wide-ranging talks with farmers and representatives from the communications industry to discuss plans for improvement in the rural areas of Wales.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “A lot of work has been done over the past four years to improve services for broadband access and a lot of money has been invested by Welsh Government to improve the ‘superfast’ service - however that service is still not reaching farmers across Wales.

“The FUW does all it can to help members to access the internet and carry out essential online business duties via its county office structure but with ever increasing demands on the farming community to carry out their business duties online more needs to be done to accelerate the process by which these essential services are readily and reliably available all over Wales, not just in urban areas.”

The FUW is fully supportive of moves which encourage the use of online services and has demonstrated this in terms of its support for RPW Online and online SAF submissions.

“However, with access to broadband still well below the national average in many of our rural areas, and farm businesses representing the highest proportion of those with no broadband access, it is essential that the limitations of online services and communications are recognised, and that rural access to broadband is increased.

“Online IACS, BCMS online and EID are just a few examples that farmers throughout Wales require reliable and fast internet connections.

“As a union we cannot stress the fact enough that more needs to be done to help rural communities and farm businesses by providing them with the essentials that every twenty-first century business needs and that includes fixed line access and mobile access throughout Wales.”

The FUW have welcomed clarity on the staging of a referendum on Britain's future in the EU.

“The FUW has long been a strong supporter of our membership of the EU. We do not sit on the fence here: we believe a Yes vote in the referendum is the best answer for farming and rural economies in Wales and for the wider Welsh economy as a whole,” said FUW Managing Director Alan Davies.

“That does not mean we believe the EU is perfect - far from it, a huge proportion of the FUW’s time is spent dealing with nonsensical EU bureaucracy. Negotiations for change are better done inside the tent than from outside.

“But we have yet to see any evidence that leaving the EU will have any significant impact on the rules and regulations.

“In addition, we have plenty of evidence published by successive UK Governments that support for farming, rural communities and food security will quickly dissolve once we are outside the EU,” added Mr Davies.

The FUW is also committed to providing as much information as possible to its members in order for them to make a fully informed decision in June, and will be holding a series of debates the first of which is on Friday, March 18.

The debate between Lord Wigley from the ‘Stronger in Europe’ campaign and David Jones MP, a former Secretary of State for Wales, will be open to members and other parties interested in agriculture and the protection of rural economy of Wales.