The closure of a Carmarthenshire cheese factory will place downward pressure on the farmgate milk price for dairy farmers throughout one of the UK's most prolific milk-producing areas, according to the Farmers' Union of Wales.

FUW vice president Brian Walters said closure of the Saputo factory at Aberarad, near Newcastle Emlyn, with the loss of 70 jobs, would be a hammer blow to the employees and their dependent families as well as farmers who supply the facility.

"This surprise news will also have major consequences for milk producers in the area including those that supply the factory who, I understand, knew nothing beforehand that such a shock announcement was coming."

Mr Walters, who runs a dairy farm on the outskirts of Carmarthen, fears that if a buyer is not found for the factory more milk will be shipped many miles out of Wales to be turned into cheese or milk powder in the West Country.

"That doesn't make any sense at a time when consumers are increasingly seeking to buy more and more local food and drink.

"Closure of the factory will be a huge blow to the workers there and to its milk suppliers who will have to seek alternative buyers for their produce at such short notice.

"It will create downward pressure on the price they can expect to receive in the future."

FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Dei (correct spelling) Davies, of Holywell, Flintshire, said: "Every effort must be made by the Welsh Government to keep this crucial facility open so that workers in a very rural area with few job vacancies can remain in a job.

"In the meantime, I urge the Welsh Government to give as much support as possible to the work force and the milk producers affected by such a bitter blow. I sincerely hope it won’t lead to a drop in price for milk producers but closure of a facility so close to a large milk field is bound to add to future haulage costs."

A sum of £858 will be donated to the Farmers' Union of Wales president's charity, Cancer Research Wales, after the union’s Meirionnydd county branch held a fund-raising evening at Dolgellau Rugby Club last Saturday (February 16).

Over 120 people attended and entertainment was provided by Parti Cut Lloi of Dyffryn Banw in Montgomeryshire. The party, led by well known folk singer Sian James of Llanerfyl, contributed greatly to a hugely successful and enjoyable evening.

All arrangements, including the preparation of food for all who attended, were led by FUW Meirionnydd area officer Bethan Roberts.

[caption id="attachment_2317" align="aligncenter" width="300"] FUND RAISERS: From left, Sian James, members of Parti Cut Lloi with Bethan Roberts, FUW's president Emyr Jones, Meirionnydd county president Dafydd T Ellis and county executive officer Huw Jones.[/caption]

Following the recent mis-labelling of horsemeat revelations the Farmers' Union of Wales is beefing up its "Buy The Welsh One" campaign which urges shoppers to support their local butchers and food producers.

Next week the campaign will feature prominently during FUW-organised events at the heart of the UK and EU governments in Westminster and Brussels.

Welsh food and drink will be on the menu on Wednesday (February 27) at a Ceredigion Day event in the Commons, hosted by Ceredigion MP Mark Williams, and MEPs will attend a Welsh farmhouse breakfast, sponsored by Wales MEP Jill Evans, at the EU Parliament building the following day (February 28).

FUW president Emyr Jones said: "Since the campaign was launched at the 2007 Royal Welsh Show the union has consistently stressed that when consumers buy beef or lamb labelled as Welsh and accompanied by the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo they can be confident it will be genuine.

"With a growing number of farm-produced quality products available at farmers' markets, corner shops, on the internet and some supermarkets throughout Wales, the FUW’s advice is to look for the Welsh Beef and Welsh Lamb logos.

"The FUW was set up over 50 years ago to represent the interests of Welsh farming families and the fight for fair returns for farm produce still remains one of its core concerns.

"So from next Monday (February 25) the FUW will also be backing Fairtrade Fortnight which calls on the British public to look after the food we love and the people who grow it.

"Companies and governments must ensure small farmers can achieve sustainable livelihoods and play a full role in building fairer, better food systems for the future.

"To show your support for the 'Buy The Welsh One' campaign pop into any of the FUW's 11 county offices throughout Wales and pick up a free 'I Love Welsh Food' reusable shopping bag, while stocks last."

Mark Williams said: "We have such a fantastic farming and meat industry in Ceredigion and in Wales, and consumers can have confidence when buying local meat from local butchers.

"I think a clear and reliable food labelling system would be a good step in restoring confidence for consumers and this should be a priority in the wake of the horsemeat scandal."

Welcoming the "Buy the Welsh one" campaign revamp, Jill Evans said: "The latest scandal has shown that we need nothing less than a food revolution. This means re-connecting consumers and producers as well as more awareness of exactly how and where our food is produced.

"We can achieve this by buying local produce. That will mean reducing the distance food is transported, enabling better control and better standards.

"Consumers are overwhelmingly demanding better labelling so they can buy local. This is a golden opportunity to promote policies that benefit farmers, local companies, consumers and the environment."

[caption id="attachment_2314" align="aligncenter" width="160"] ‘Buy The Welsh One’ and support local butchers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2310" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Talybont cottage: From left, FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones, Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Elfyn Llwyd, FUW president Emyr Jones and farmer Geraint Edwards outside Talybont cottage.[/caption]

A Meirionnydd farmer has gone the extra mile to ensure he is financially prepared to deal with a possible cut in his single farm payment following CAP reform and the loss of income after his Tir Gofal scheme comes to an end.

Farmers’ Union of Wales member Geraint Edwards, 41, who farms 600 acres of severely disadvantaged land at Drws Nant, Llanuwchllyn, has renovated two farm holiday cottages to an exceptional standard in order to boost the farm’s income.

The farm, which carries 360 ewes and eight suckler cows, has been under the Tir Gofal agreement which comes to a close by the end of the year.  The farm entered the pilot Tir Cymen scheme 1992 and afterwards entered the Tir Gofal scheme.

“With income from the Tir Gofal scheme ending by the end of this year and the uncertainties of the single farm payment under the CAP reform, we had to look around for other sources of income,” said Mr Edwards.

“As we are in such a beautiful area which is popular with tourists, we diversified by renovating two holiday cottages on the farm and are also looking to join the Glastir scheme.

“When we bought Talybont back in 2001 it had been uninhabited for 25 years so there was quite a lot of work to be done. We used local craftsmen and sourced material locally where we could and it now sleeps four to six people comfortably.

“Ty Mawr, which sleeps four to five people, was purchased in 2012. The previous owner of the cottage had carried out a great deal of the work and I felt that there were obvious advantages in completing the property.

“We look forward to what promises to be an exciting new business venture for us,” added Mr Edwards.

Both cottages are let through Dioni.co.uk, a website for self-catering Snowdonia Holiday Cottages run by Gwion Llwyd of Byrdir, Dyfryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd.

FUW president Emyr Jones, who officially opened the two cottages, said: “Geraint is an example of a young farmer who is absolutely determined to work hard to maximise the farm income and we wish him the best of luck in his new business venture.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Elfyn Llwyd, who attended the opening, said: “Geraint needs to be warmly congratulated on completing these two cottages to such an outstandingly high standard.”

Due to a clash with a Welsh Assembly CAP meeting the joint annual general meeting of the Farmers' Union of Wales' Builth Wells, Llanwrtyd Wells, Penybont and Rhayader sub-branches - scheduled for Thursday February 28 - has been changed to Thursday March 7 at the FUW Pavilion, RWAS Showground, Builth Wells, at 7.30pm.

The guest speakers will still be entrepreneurs Richard and Jim George who spurned a £160,000 deal on the Dragons’ Den TV series and have seen sales of their anti-rot fencing post sleeves soar by 75%.

The brothers, from Malvern, Worcestershire, stunned the panel of multi-millionaires on the hit BBC 2 programme when they declined four offers for a stake in their Gloucestershire-based business.

Members of the Farmers' Union of Wales Gwent branch recently visited the JCB production factory at Rocester, Staffordshire.

"The trip attracted tremendous interest from an early stage with the 53-seat bus being sold to capacity with a small reserve list being in operation," said FUW Gwent county executive officer Glyn Davies.

"Members and friends were treated to superb hospitality at the JCB visitor centre with lunch being served upon arrival.  Following lunch we had a tour of the production facilities, seeing JCB excavators produced from plain sheets of steel through to the finished products rolling off the end of the production line.

"In addition we were told the story of JCB, with examples of previous types of machinery on show. The visit can be highly recommended to anyone interested in the story of JCB and in the production of a first class industrial and agricultural machine.

"It was also extremely pleasing to note that JCB is still a privately owned company and that the original owners are direct descendents of the founder of the business."

Mr Davies said the manner in which JCB had grown into a global company was a perfect example of the high quality workmanship and engineering expertise available in this country.

"This visit has probably created a precedent in the county and members have already put forward a number of suggestions for next year’s trip."

[caption id="attachment_2304" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Gwent FUW members and friends outside JCB's Rocester factory[/caption]