The FUW recognises vet who stood shoulder to shoulder with farmers at protests
The Farmers’ Union of Wales recognised Rhys Beynon-Thomas for his services to agriculture at the Royal Welsh Show.
Rhys Beynon-Thomas is an experienced vet who returned to Wales in 2014 to work as a vet specialising in farm animals in Carmarthenshire alongside farming part time on the family farm at Hendy, Swansea. He is by now a Director at Prostock Vets.
Rhys has been an advocate and a voice for farmers during one of the most distressing periods that the sector has endured.
His heartfelt but very effective speeches at the “Digon yw Digon” protests in Carmarthen and Cardiff captured the horror and distress of bovineTB on farming families. His commentary was harrowing and his bravery in being willing to stand up and tell the story from a vet’s perspective was inspiring.
Germany announces relief package for farmers
Following farmers protests at the end of last year the German Government has announced they will introduce various measures to strengthen the competitiveness of German agriculture.
These will include reintroducing tax breaks such as income smoothing which allows tax discounts in economically weak years, to be offset against stronger years. This will be possible retroactively imposed from 2023 to 2026.
In addition, the package aims to respond to European-wide demands for reducing bureaucracy for farmers.
Farmers Unions have reacted with disappointment at the package saying ‘this is not a relief package. It is merely a small bundle and light years away from what is necessary’.
Concerns that falling numbers could destabilise the beef industry
Hybu Cig Cymru have expressed concerns for the future of the Welsh beef industry following the latest half yearly data released by the British Cattle Movement Service
As cattle numbers in key age brackets fall, there are serious concerns around the critical mass needed to promote and maintain industry stability, which presents an overall concerning outlook for beef production.
213,000 calf registrations were made in the 6 month period, well below the peak of 230,000 in 2021. Short-term cattle supply across GB is expected to remain relatively stable however, looking ahead, the number of cattle in the 0–12-month age bracket is down by four per cent, suggesting that future beef supply across GB could be constrained.