Farmers’ Union of Wales officials have held discussions around actions the UK Government must take to ensure pressure on farmers, food producers and consumers is relieved in the immediate term, while bolstering food and energy security in ways which reduce the dangers of future exposure to global emergencies, when they met with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Dr James Davies MP at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair.

Reinforcing the FUW’s 5 Point Plan, officials outlined key asks with regard to resetting international trade policy, restoring relationships with our nearest neighbours, inspiring a renewable energy revolution, rethinking domestic agricultural and rural policies and providing support for critical industries.

Only recently, former Secretary of State for Agriculture George Eustice confirmed that trade deals with Australia and New Zealand gave away massive access to the UK food markets in exchange for negligible benefits for the UK economy. The FUW has always known and made clear that these deals sell Welsh farmers and UK food security down the river in exchange for virtually nothing and the Union stressed during the meeting with Dr Davies that the Wales Office should be robust in scrutinising and opposing any similar deals in future.

Farmers’ Union of Wales officials have discussed the importance of maintaining and establishing favourable export markets for Welsh red meat with Defra Minister Mark Spencer at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, stressing that good relations must be restored with our nearest neighbours.

The FUW welcomed the opportunity to discuss the importance of favourable export markets and trade deals with the Minister.

The UK Government has been pursuing liberal trade deals that its own figures show will undermine UK food security. These deals have been shown to have negligible benefits for the UK’s economy whilst opening up UK markets to products that do not meet the same standards. The UK Government needs to focus on trade policies that place UK food security and producers at the top of their agenda.

It’s time for a renewable energy revolution - that was the key message from Farmers’ Union of Wales officials when they met with Brecon and Radnor MP Fay Jones at the Winter Fair. 

The MP heard that reliance on and exposure to global fossil fuel markets has been exposed by the impacts of the pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Energy production using fossil fuels is second only to business in terms of contributions to Wales’ greenhouse gas emissions, and is the second highest contributor in the UK after transport.

Proposals from Wales’ environmental regulator are unacceptable against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, say the leaders of Wales’ farming community, the CLA, NFU Cymru and FUW.

The Welsh Government’s agency Natural Resources Wales (NRW) plans to dramatically increase the cost of licences to carry out necessary and unavoidable operations on Welsh farms. For example, sheep-dip land-spreading costs are to leap up to 20 times the current cost for a new application.

The three organisations call on NRW to revisit the proposals in the context of unprecedented uncertainty in Welsh agriculture.