i) 93% of Welsh farms paid full or balance BPS payments 2021

On 15th December 2021, Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths announced that over 93% of Welsh farm businesses had received their full or balance Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

This exceeded the number of payments made early in the 2020 window and meant that £227 million had been paid to more than 15,000 farmers across Wales, inclusive of the advance payments made in October.

Nevertheless, the FUW is urging the Welsh Government to process the remaining BPS 2021 payments as quickly as possible.

ii) Plaid Cymru reshuffle following Cooperation Agreement

Plaid Cymru has recently been reshuffled as part of the Cooperation Agreement with the Welsh Labour Party with Cefin Campbell MS being selected as the Second Designated Member.

Heledd Fychan MS, Sioned Williams MS and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS all have new roles, with Mabon ap Gwynfor becoming the new spokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Affairs for Plaid Cymru.

iii) Retailer Aldi continues support for British food producers throughout pandemic

Major retailer Aldi announced that it has spent an additional £1.6 billion with British suppliers since the Covid-19 pandemic began. This includes £125 million on British meat, poultry and dairy products.

Alongside its commitment to source 100% British fresh meat and dairy products, Aldi has also reiterated its pledge to spend an extra £3.5 billion per year with British businesses by the end of 2025.

From the 17th January 2022, 2 new changes to the rules relating to a bovine TB breakdown will be applied in Wales.

Change 1: Officially TB Status Withdrawn (OTFW) as Standard

All new breakdowns across Wales (with 2 exceptions listed below) will be classified as Officially TB Free Status Withdrawn (OTFW).

There are two exceptions, which will continue to be classified as Officially TB Free Status Suspended (OTFS):

1. OTF herds where one or more suspect slaughterhouse case(s) has been disclosed and culture results are still pending
2. Breakdown herds where non-homebred animals positive to Interferon-gamma and / or IDEXX antibody testing only (i.e. no skin reactors) have been disclosed and disease has not been confirmed on post-mortem examination / culture results.

OTFS herds where the breakdown started prior to the 15th November 2020 will remain OTFS unless any further skin test reactor is disclosed, or epidemiological risk factors apply.

What does this change mean for me?

The Welsh Government is seeking more farmers to participate in the next stage of the co-design process for designing the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

The proposed scheme is scheduled to be introduced in 2025 with a multi-year transition period to move away from the current BPS system.

Welsh farmers are encouraged to register to take part in the process to provide a direct view on the practicality of the proposals underpinning the new scheme and its wider policies.

The Welsh Government says that the scheme will ‘support farmers to lower their farms’ carbon footprint, help improve the environment and support the production of food in a sustainable way.’

The next phase of co-design will lead to the final consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme in spring 2023.

To register to be involved in the second phase of co-designing the new scheme, farmers can register their interest on the Welsh Government website or speak to their local Farm Liaison Service representative.

Farmers across Wales, who keep sheep and goats, are being reminded to submit their annual inventory by 1st February 2022.

The inventory needs to list the number of sheep and/or goats that were owned on each holding (CPH) on 1 January 2022.

Farmers are being encouraged to complete the form online through their EIDCymru account but paper copies can also be submitted.

The deadline to submit the form is Tuesday 1st February and a late submission could increase the risk of being selected for an inspection.

Farmers who no longer keep sheep or goats need to deregister, sign and return the declaration form.

Online forms can be completed by logging in at www.eidcymru.org. Postal copies need to be sent to EIDCymru, Ty Merlin, Parc Merlin, Aberystwyth, SY23 3FF.