CLICK here to view this month's Expression of interest window dates September 2022

Following the publication of the Senedd Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee report on the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, the Welsh Government is expected to respond by 14th September followed by a debate scheduled in the Plenary on 21st September 2022.

In response to its publication on 8th June 2022, the FUW fully welcomed the report and called for it to receive the attention and respect it deserves and for all of the recommendations to be implemented in full.

For example, Recommendation 1 which states that “the Welsh Government should re-introduce the derogation which allowed qualifying grassland farmers to spread up to 250 kg per ha of nitrogen” which was omitted from the regulations before being laid in front of the previous Senedd in 2021 without any form of warning or explanation.

According to NRW, Wales received 58% of its expected rainfall during July, although this wasn’t evenly distributed with catchments ranging from 29% for Valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan and 74% in Carmarthenshire.

During the five months from March to July, Wales received 61% of the average rainfall. The only other drier periods in the past 100 years occurred in 1984 and 1976.

On 19th August 2022, a Temporary Use Ban (TUB) or ‘hosepipe’ ban came into force in Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire, as NRW declared drought status for river catchments in South West Wales.

The European Commission is set to begin the adoption process of the National Strategic Plans for the first EU member states. The plans have had several setbacks following the war in Ukraine leading to changes due to concerns about food security. Through these plans, countries will set out how they intend to meet the 9 EU-wide objectives due to start in 2023 using Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) instruments while responding to the specific needs of their farmers and rural communities.

Five member states (Denmark, France, Portugal, Poland and Spain) have started the process of getting their plans officially approved by the EU Commission. Among the priorities put forward in the French Strategic Plan is a doubling of organic areas by 2027 and using CAP funding to support crop diversification and to plant hedges for biodiversity and carbon storage, while Poland's main change has been to double spending on animal welfare subsidies. The Spanish strategic plan includes €700 million per year for coupled payments to support sectors in difficulty such as livestock extensive farms, while funds for dairy cattle and goats will also be increased.

Of the remaining 19 member states yet to start the official approval process the Commission has said that all will be completed by the end of the year with several due to enter the process very soon.