A joint meeting of the Farmers' Union of Wales' livestock, wool and marts and the hill farming and marginal land committees has warned that action must be taken to bolster confidence in the industry following the current downward trend in beef prices.

After the meeting, livestock, wool and marts committee chairman Dafydd Roberts expressed committee delegates' concern that beef imports selling at less than the cost of production was hitting Welsh beef producers hard and called on retailers to bolster producer confidence by increasing farmgate prices.

According to Meat Promotion Wales (Hybu Cig Cymru), figures between January and the week ending April 19 revealed Welsh prime cattle prices had consistently fallen and were more than 30p per kg lower than for the same period last year.

"The supply chain, and that includes supermarkets where the majority of beef is bought for household consumption, must appreciate the consequences of buying cheap imports," said Mr Roberts.

"Industry confidence levels - and, therefore, the willingness to invest - are at a worrying low which could affect the future of the Wales beef herd.

"We have an emerging quality brand in Wales in Welsh Beef and it is in all our interests to nurture and promote the industry. But without profitability, supply will be a problem in the coming years.

"Turning the tap on and off in terms of the beef supply chain is not possible as growing this quality food product is a medium to long term business.

"We need a resilient beef industry to ensure there is product for the emerging demands for a quality brand and to help maintain the environmental characteristics of Wales, particularly the upland areas.

"Keeping cattle is a fundamental contributor to the uniqueness of the Welsh landscape and it is essential that both the supply chain and government support Welsh beef production."

[caption id="attachment_2293" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Anglesey beef and sheep farmer Dafydd Roberts, chairman of the union's livestock, wool and marts committee[/caption]

A "stunning" silver, Welsh slate and Welsh wool crown created by a local farmer's daughter and sponsored by the county's Farmers' Union of Wales branch has been handed over to the organisers of this year's Urdd National Eisteddfod at Bala (May 26-31).

Young Mallwyd artist Mari Eluned made the crown that will be presented to the winning Urdd Gobaith Cymru litterateur in the pavilion at 14.30 on Friday May 30.

FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones said: "Mari is a talented artist and her work is highly respected, locally and nationally, and, of course, she’s a local farm girl from Meirionnydd.

"We were very happy with the draft designs given to us on paper some months ago but only after seeing the completed crown can we fully appreciate how stunning it is."

After graduating with a first class honours degree in jewellery silversmithing from Loughborough University in 2006, Mari returned to Wales to start her own business "Mari Eluned" producing unique jewellery that combines Welsh slate with silver from her home in Mallwyd.

The business has gone from strength to strength and in 2009 she won the "Young Craft Worker/Artist of the Year" title in the 2009 Gwynedd Taste & Talent awards.

The crown was inspired by the spring season and created using silver, gold, Welsh slate and green cloth woven from Welsh wool.

Mari, who began work on the crown in March, said: “The crown is formed from a series of interlinking silver buds that vary in size to convey the development of the Daffodil from bud to flower. The front of the crown is adorned with daffodils made from slate, gold and silver.

“In addition, the contours of some of Meirionnydd’s mountains are etched on the silver whilst the use of green wool reflects the rural countryside. A button, crafted from slate, with gold and silver symbolises the summit.”

“I was recently commissioned by FUW to create the crown for Eisteddfod Powys, but when they contacted me regarding the Urdd crown I was extremely privileged.”

[caption id="attachment_2858" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Eisteddfod crown 2014[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2859" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Crown presentation: (from left) FUW president Emyr Jones, chairman of the eisteddfod’s executive committee Hedd Pugh, Mari Eluned and Huw Jones[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has organised a European Election hustings for Ceredigion voters on May 13 at the Llanina Hotel, Llanarth, starting at 7.30pm.

FUW county executive officer Caryl Wyn-Jones said: “It seems that this is the only hustings of its kind to be held in Ceredigion and we strongly believe it’s essential for electors to have the chance to ask questions to the candidates as well as listen to their views and opinions.

“There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions during the evening as well as hear each party’s aspirations for Wales within Europe.”

Five party representatives - Alec Dauncey (Liberal Democrat), Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru), Alex Thomas (Labour), Aled Davies (Conservative) and Anthony Slaughter (Green Party) - will take part.

For more information or to book your place, contact Caryl Wyn-Jones on 01545 571 222.

With only two weeks left until the May 15 deadline for IACS/Single Application Form (SAF) submission, the Farmers’ Union of Wales is urging farmers to ensure forms are completed accurately and submitted on time as failure to do so could drastically reduce their payments not just in 2014 but also over the coming four years.

FUW president Emyr Jones said: “We’re still awaiting confirmation from Welsh Government of how payments will be calculated from 2015 onwards, but it seems highly likely that the Single Payment a farmer receives in December 2014 will be used as a reference for calculating the historical element of payment entitlements from 2015 to 2019.

“This means that a simple mistake - or worse still failure to submit the form this year - could not only lead to a loss of payment in 2014, but also a growing loss over the coming four years.”

The Welsh Government hopes to introduce transitional payment entitlement values based upon historical:flat rate ratios of 80:20, 60:40, 40:60 and 20:80 in the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Regulations, the historical baseline value of payment entitlements can be based on the Single Payment made to a farmer in 2014 and, if such a system is adopted, this means a fall in the payment received in 2014 would lead to lower payments in 2015-2019.

“This means that every €1,000 lost in 2014 due to errors or failure to submit the form could lead to a total further loss over the 2015 to 2019 period of up to €2,000, “ Mr Jones added.

The news that Dairy Crest is to reduce its farm gate milk prices by 2 pence per litre (ppl) to its unaligned producers is a disgrace and highlights the weakness of milk contracts in general, the Farmers' Union of Wales dairy and milk committee chairman Dei Davies said today.

"The rate these milk producers will now get paid is 3-4ppl below the costs of production, which is quite frankly scandalous," said Mr Davies.

"Dairy farmers are often adversely affected by poor contracts. They may be required to give 12 or more months' notice to pull out but the price the farmer is paid can be changed at a few days' notice  by the processor," added Mr Davies.

"There is no reason for these milk prices to drop other than that Dairy Crest has lost the contract of a major supermarket and this is putting dairy farmers in an impossible situation.

"The Union believes that urgent Government action is required to eliminate unreasonable contractual practices and create fairer and more balanced terms for farmers.

"It is obvious that there is a need to introduce legislation as a matter of urgency if the Government wants to ensure the survival of the milk and dairy industry," added Mr Davies.

A former chairman of the Farmers' Union of Wales milk and dairy produce committee today expressed disappointment that two leading dairy companies are dropping the price they pay farmers for their milk.

"We are disappointed that milk prices are dropping just as the industry is beginning to get back the confidence it needs to invest in a better future," said Eifion Huws, who runs a dairy farm at Bodedern on Anglesey.

Today Arla announced a drop in the price it will pay to farmers of 1.27ppl - taking effect from Monday (April 28) - which reduces their standard litre price in the UK to 33.74p per litre (ppl).

And Dairy Crest recently announced a 0.435ppl reduction in its May formula contract options - rebased from the April position - that will take the core formula to 32.315ppl and the simplified formula to 32.125ppl. DC’s current standard litre price is 32.56ppl.

Mr Huws said they both expressed support for the industry's voluntary code of practice published in October 2012. One of its main objectives was that dairy farmers would get 30 days notice of any price change.

"But Arla does not accept the 30-day notice objective for some of its suppliers and the fact that they are able to drop the price within four days - while the other companies adhere to the code - shows there may be a strong case for legislation on this issue."

Last May the FUW welcomed a recommendation by the Commons Welsh Affairs Committee stating that the code must be given a chance to work but, if tangible improvements are not forthcoming, the Government must be prepared to legislate.

"We supported the introduction of the code and were willing to give it a chance but it now seems we still need to look at whether some form of legislation could be swiftly introduced if it is not working as intended," Mr Huws added.

"Even in May last year evidence was emerging about processors opting out of the code, in full or in part, and we believed then that the threat of legislation would help push the code forward.

"Admittedly, the code's ability to work for every producer to the same degree is probably limited but we still have concerns that purchasers are cherry-picking elements that they want and leaving producers in a worse position."

According to Welsh Government statistics the number of dairy farms in Wales reduced by nearly 900 from 2,727 in 2006 to 1,845 in 2012.

[caption id="attachment_2851" align="aligncenter" width="300"] former chairman of the Farmers' Union of Wales milk and dairy produce committee Eifion Huws[/caption]