The £3.4 million Summit to Sea rewilding project was launched by Rewilding Britain in October 2018 and aimed to rewild on a scale never before seen in Britain, creating ‘core areas’ supporting low-impact tourism and recreation.

The project targeted some 240 square miles (around 155,000 acres) of land in Montgomeryshire and Ceredigion, an area first earmarked for rewilding in George Monbiot's book Feral, back in 2013.

Following a meeting in the area last July, attended by more than 100 locals, and the subsequent establishment of Cymunedau Oll Pumlumon a’r Ardal (COPA) to oppose the plans, the end result has been the departure of Rewilding Britain from the project and a substantial change in the project's approach and leadership which has been welcomed by the group.

More recently, RSPB Cymru and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have intervened and taken control of the project, proposing a ‘fresh start’ by taking into account all of the concerns raised during the past 18 months.

i) Chair appointed for New Ruminant Health and Welfare Group
Nigel Miller has been appointed as the Chair of the new Ruminant Health and Welfare Group (RHAWG) for a two year term.

Mr Miller is a former vet and NFU Scotland President. The RHAWG has been established to tackle important diseases of ruminant livestock and contains a variety of stakeholders, including the FUW. The first meeting of the group is expected shortly.

ii) Retail sales of UK beef increased during pandemic
Retail sales data from Kantar Worldpanel show that the total spend on beef during the 12-week period up to 17th May increased by nearly 27 percent year on year.

Industry campaigns encouraging consumers to purchase more prime cuts, such as steaks and joints, had a positive effect on sales. However the uplift in retail sales can only partly make up for the disruption caused following the closure of the foodservice sector during the pandemic.

iii) New Zealand farmers vote to continue DairyNZ funding 
Farmers in New Zealand have voted to continue paying towards DairyNZ. DairyNZ invests dairy producer money into a wide range of activities, such as research and development and also provides advocacy services.

Nearly 12,000 dairy farmers pay the 3.6c per kg Milk Solid levy and 69% of the 6,500 or so respondents voted in favour of continuing to pay for the DairyNZ service.

Welsh Government has recently issued SAF Preliminary Check Letters on farmers' RPW Online accounts where they believe errors may have been made on the Single Application Form (SAF). Farmers have until the 20th of July to consider the information in the letters and respond to avoid potential penalties.

Members are also reminded that if they do get any notifications from RPW Online during the year, they should be checked immediately as they may relate to important issues and failure to check them and respond could delay payments.

Members should contact their County Office if any help is needed in responding to such notifications.

Business Wales have prepared a webpage which lists the coronavirus advice and support schemes that agricultural businesses are eligible for all in one place. The page can be viewed here.