The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) joined forces with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) to showcase the important role farmers play when it comes to looking after farmland birds, as well as helping farmers understand what they can do on their farms to protect birds.

Ahead of the Big Farmland Bird Count (4-20 February), the FUW jointly hosted a webinar with the GWCT on 1st February.

Guest speakers at the webinar, which was chaired by FUW Deputy President Ian Rickman, included Matthew Goodall from the GWCT, who spoke about the importance of taking part in the Big Farmland Bird Count, the background behind the initiative and how farmland bird numbers can be increased; FUW Senior Policy and Communications Officer Gareth Parry addressed policy issues that affect how we produce food and look after the environment for the benefit of Wales’ bird species and the webinar also heard from Welsh beef and sheep farmer and former FUW Meirionnydd county chairman Geraint Davies, who had previously participated in the Big Farmland Bird Count.

The webinar is now available to watch here: https://www.fuw.org.uk/en/members/member-seminars

Over the past 12 months, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has worked with Natural England to revise and update the advice for land managers following the update of the Countryside Code visitor advice in 2021.

The revised advice provides land managers with clear information on:

• The rights and responsibilities for public rights of way and open access land
• Visitor access rights
• How to help visitors act responsibly
• How to create a safe environment
• Who to contact for support

The guidance is available here: https://naturalresources.wales/land-manager-advice?lang=en

The Farmers Weekly Awards 2022 will celebrate the best of British agriculture by recognising the most hardworking and innovative farmers across the UK.

The closing date to either enter or make a nomination is 31st March with the event taking place in London on 6th October 2022.

There are a total of 15 different categories this year:

• Ag Student of the Year
• Arable Adviser of the Year
• Arable Farmer of the Year
• Beef Farmer of the Year
• Contractor of the Year
• Dairy Farmer of the Year
• Diversification Farmer of the Year
• Farm Manager of the Year
• Grassland Manager of the Year
• Livestock Adviser of the Year
• Mixed Farmer of the Year
• Pig Farmer of the Year
• Poultry Farmer of the Year
• Sheep Farmer of the Year
• Young Farmer of the Year

Click here for further information.

The Donkey Sanctuary has launched a new five year project that will look at the life cycle of donkeys in the UK and Ireland and the encouragement of responsible ownership.

The Sanctuary aims to see a reduction in the number of donkeys suffering due to poor welfare or abandonment. To identify the factors affecting such welfare, they need to understand donkey ownership and the reasons for it, why donkeys are rehomed and any gaps in support or education for owners.

As part of this work, the Sanctuary plans to form a Stakeholder group consisting of people from all sectors and backgrounds who are involved with donkeys.

If any FUW members would be interested in participating, please email Katrina Hammond at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.