The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed a commitment by prime minister David Cameron and environment secretary Liz Truss to boost public food procurement by central government.

The plan for public procurement, worth £400 million for British farming, would see central government committing to buying fresh, locally sourced, seasonal food, from 2017.

Speaking after a reception with prime minister David Cameron, FUW president Emyr Jones said: “Whilst we understand that this is a central government plan, it will clearly bring benefits for farmers across the UK, and we hope will encourage all public bodies to follow suit, including those not run by central government and in Wales.

“The FUW has been lobbying for precisely this type of commitment ever since I have been involved with the union and we congratulate Mr Cameron for this initiative. “

“It is in all our interests to ensure that all public bodies use locally sourced and seasonal food to ensure a prosperous and thriving economy.

“It is extremely frustrating when some government departments work hard to support rural communities and promote our produce, while others are actively buying from our competitors,” added Mr Jones.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is set to highlight the impact of falling meat and dairy prices and call for greater domestic support for Welsh produce during meetings with major retailers and politicians over the coming days at the Royal Welsh Show (July 21-24).

With farmgate prices for beef having seen a major reduction over a period of months, and lamb and milk prices recently following a similar trend, the FUW is warning that domestic support for Welsh and British produce is critical.

“Farmers are extremely frustrated that a little over a year ago support was pledged by the food industry for Welsh and British produce following the horsemeat scandal, but a year on our produce is being displaced by imported produce and prices have fallen dramatically,” said FUW president Emyr Jones.

“We have already been in correspondence and meetings with major retailers, and have further meetings lined up over the coming days.

“We will also be highlighting our concerns to numerous ministers and politicians in meetings during the week here at the show.”

Mr Jones said that profitable agriculture is essential for a thriving rural Wales and emphasised the direct and indirect support farming provides in terms of employment and income for a wealth of businesses in both rural and urban areas.

“Farmers recognise the complexities inherent in the commodities marketplace, but the profits from food production must be split equitably throughout the supply chain if all the broader benefits of agriculture are to remain,” added Mr Jones, who also called on governments to play their part.

“We are currently facing a massive escalation in red tape due to the new CAP, and if the new and draconian cross compliance measures proposed by the Welsh Government are implemented, the industry will see additional costs escalate.

“We are constantly being told to be more efficient, but the appetite various levels of government have for additional rules contradicts any commitments to reduce bureaucracy.

“It is also essential that governments lead by example when it comes to promoting, buying and promoting local produce.”

Mr Jones said that the impact of farming on urban and rural environments should not be underestimated, highlighting the fact that The Royal Welsh Show contributes more than £40 million to the Welsh economy and demonstrates the tremendous value of the sector.

Farmers who believe they have incorrectly mapped areas of moorland should take action before the 30 day appeals deadline the Farmers’ Union of Wales has warned today.

The union also criticised Welsh government legislation which would set in stone 1992 mapping errors, and warned that the official guidance sent to farmers which gives definitions of moorland is highly misleading and does not give the whole picture.

The guide to the basic payment scheme (BPS) in Wales sent to farmers over the past week states that moorland will be defined as ‘(a) land classified as moorland on the Wales 1992 Moorland Map, and (b) which has an altitude of 400 metres and above, and (c) has the sort of land as set out in regulation 2(1) of the moorland (livestock extensification) (Wales) Regulations 1995’. The guidance indicates farmers can appeal against the mapping of land which does not meet these criteria.

“But the Welsh statutory instrument defining moorland areas, which was laid on Monday this week, has a far more restrictive definition of land eligible to be removed from the moorland map than is indicated either in the guidance sent to farmers or the 1995 regulations” said FUW policy director Nick Fenwick.

“Critically, it implies that for land to be removed from the map it must ‘…have more than 40%’ perennial ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, white clover, red clover, and/or Timothy grass.”

“This is almost double the threshold for the Environmental Impact Assessment definition of uncultivated or semi-natural land. The Welsh Government has basically introduced a draconian definition not present in either the original 1992 moorland definition nor the 1995 regulations which means non-moorland will be categorised as moorland.”

Mr Fenwick said this would lead to many errors made during the 1992 moorland mapping process being ‘preserved in stone’.

“We have been pursuing this issue for some time, and have succeeded in persuading Welsh government to do a U-turn on its original decision not to allow any appeals based upon incorrect mapping in 1992.

“However, it is unacceptable that the definition has been gold-plated in a way which seems specifically aimed at keeping some incorrectly mapped areas within the moorland area.

“Moreover, it is appalling that this additional definition is not mentioned in the guidance sent to farmers, but is nevertheless specified in the statutory instrument.”

Mr Fenwick said that the definition was so inaccurate that it would lead to some areas being classed as moorland for the purposes of payments, and arable land for the purpose of the new greening regulations.

“This highlights the ridiculous nature of the statutory instrument, and we have been highlighting for weeks the likelihood that this proposal will lead to legal challenges on a range of very valid grounds.”

The future of Wales’ communications networks and how they will compare to the best in Europe are some of the questions that will be discussed on the third day of this year’s  Royal Welsh Agricultural Show (Wednesday July 23) when the Farmers’ Union of Wales and Ofcom host a discussion group with a panel of industry experts.

FUW deputy president Glyn Roberts, who is delighted the union is once again hosting this event at the Royal Welsh Show, said: "This is the third consecutive year at the show that the FUW has collaborated with Ofcom in providing a platform for discussion on the wide ranging communications issues facing rural Wales.

"The FUW has campaigned relentlessly over the years for improved broadband and has fully supported the Superfast Cymru initiative from the outset.

"We regard reliable and fast broadband essential for rural communities and businesses to develop. It is now a requirement for farmers of all ages to use computer technology for their online business and social transactions and, naturally, they demand and require the fastest connections available.

“Online IACS, BCSM online and the incoming EID are just a few examples that farmers throughout Wales require reliable and fast internet connections for, so 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.”

Joining ITV’s political editor Adrian Masters to discuss the availability of broadband and mobile services in rural Wales on the discussion panel will be Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb, BT programme director for Superfast Cymru Ed Hunt, Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, internet service provider Xwavia’s finance director Dafydd Wyn Thomas and Ofcom’s Wales director Rhodri Williams.

“It promises to be a lively discussion and one of great importance to those living in rural Wales. There is widespread agreement that reliable and speedy communications are necessary components to allow individuals and businesses to participate fully in the digital age and we look forward to discussing this on Wednesday,” said BT programme director for Superfast Cymru Ed Hunt.

“Broadband is widely regarded as a fourth utility and recognising that, governments in Westminster and Cardiff have invested heavily to ensure widespread roll-out of what is labelled as “superfast broadband”.

“The installation of hundreds of miles of fibre optic cable between telephone exchanges and cabinets across Wales is due to complete by spring 2016, but even that is forecast to leave 4% of the premises in Wales with connections of less than 24 megabits per second, or in some cases, no connection at all.

“The other component of a modern communications landscape is widespread mobile coverage. When conducting the auction of 4G spectrum on behalf of the government, Ofcom imposed a coverage obligation of 95 percent of premises in Wales on the winner of one of the lots,” added Mr Hunt.

For more information please contact Elinor Williams, Ofcom Wales on 029 20467 217 (0788 198 7188) or FUW finance controller Wyn Lewis on 07720879257.

This year’s National Eisteddfod prose medal and the £750 prize money - sponsored by the Farmers’ Union of Wales’ Carmarthenshire branch and offered for a volume of creative prose of no more than 40,000 words - will be presented on Wednesday August 6 at 4pm at the eisteddfod in Llanelli (August 2 -9).

“We are honoured to sponsor this year’s prose medal to be presented during one of the Gorsedd ceremonies, when the Archdruid will lead proceedings on the pavilion stage, which is very popular among Eisteddfodwyr,” said FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer David Waters.

“We are also looking forward to hosting a wide range of activities at the FUW Eisteddfod stand this year and to welcoming union members, non-members and friends for a cup of tea and chat,” added Mr Waters.

[caption id="attachment_2989" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] From left, David Waters and FUW Carmarthenshire county chairman Brian Richards hand over the prose medal and £750 prize money to Carmarthenshire National Eisteddfod executive committee chairman Gethin Thomas[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has described meetings with newly appointed Welsh Government minister for natural resources and food Edwina Hart and deputy minister for agriculture and fisheries Rebecca Evans as extremely positive and productive.

Speaking after the meeting last Friday (June 11) FUW president Emyr Jones said: “At the top of the FUW’s agenda was the issue of communication, both with the industry as a whole and those who are elected to represent it.”

Mr Jones acknowledged that the relationship between the previous minister and the farming industry had been difficult over recent years, and that the chance to start afresh was therefore welcome.

“There was mutual agreement that we need to work together for the good of the industry, whilst respecting our different roles and those differences of opinion which do exist.

“However, when it comes to the majority of issues I believe we share the same overarching views, and working together has been shown to have major benefits over the past two years, not least in terms of developing the RPW Online system.”

Issues covered during the meeting included concerns over any long term plans to split the environmental brief away from agriculture, Wales’ 2014-2020 Rural Development Plan, and the question of implementing an Area of Natural Constraint scheme.

“We also discussed our mutual enthusiasm for supporting young entrants, but emphasised the importance of ensuring any training provided through the RDP is meaningful and represents value for money.

“We will be meeting both the minister and deputy minister again over the coming weeks, and look forward to a positive relationship which is underpinned by mutual respect,” added Mr Jones.

[caption id="attachment_2986" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] FUW president Emyr Jones, CLA Welsh policy committee member Rory McLaggan, agriculture and fisheries deputy minister Rebecca Evans and NFU Cymru president Stephen James[/caption]