Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) officials held constructive meetings with Members of the Senedd at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, highlighting key concerns about the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, Sustainable Farming Scheme Proposals, the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, as well as a variety of animal health issues, including Bovine TB.
Joining the FUW for discussions were Jane Dodds MS, Peter Fox MS, James Evans MS, Cefin Campbell MS and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, as well as Sam Kurtz MS.
Regarding the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, Union officials outlined 8 key amendments which the FUW believes are essential to ensure that the economic stability and viability of farming families in Wales are protected in future support schemes, for example widening the definition of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) to recognise the interconnectivity and interdependence of land management and farm livelihoods and adding a 5th SLM Objective which explicitly seeks to ensure the economic sustainability of farming families in Wales, the provision of safe traceable food and the protection of global food security.
Union officials further outlined members concerns regarding the Sustainable Farming Scheme proposals and highlighted among other concerns that the Universal Action which requires all farmers in the scheme to achieve 10% tree cover area poses major challenges and logistical barriers to engagement in the scheme, particularly for tenants, commoners, and those with a large percentage of their farms as habitat land, coastal land, land above the treeline, or highly productive land. Committing to a permanent land use change in an uncertain economic climate is difficult, the Union stressed.
Discussing the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, Members of the Senedd who joined the FUW heard that farmers across Wales welcomed the breathing space provided by the latest announcement and the opportunity to respond to the Welsh Government's consultation on the proposed licensing scheme, but that the Union remains outraged at the fact that Welsh farmers are still expected to build new slurry stores by August 2024 with the support of the additional funding, only for the Welsh Government to consider and potentially implement alternative technologies in 2025 which may then negate the need for closed periods and set slurry storage capacities in the future.
The FUW also stressed that anxiety and stress levels among farmers remained high given the ongoing animal health issues such as Bovine TB, sheep scab and BVD.