The importance of agriculture in the wider context of the holistic fabric of everyday life in Wales
by Glyn Roberts, FUW President
WHAT a week which started with a special Sunday morning service. It was interesting to hear Ifan Jones Evans in his reading referring to the Apostle of Peace Henry Richard, preaching about peace over two hundred years ago considering our situation today! Words of the late Reverend J T Roberts referring to civilization spring into mind, that humanity came from the forest but getting a forest of humanity is much more difficult, as it is still in its infancy.
On the way back to the Union stand I met the Archdruid (Myrddin ap Dafydd) and had an interesting conversation over a cup of tea at our stand, with Myrddin referring to the change in emphasis of land use, and that he was concerned about buying land for planting trees to offset carbon with an extremely important reference to the castles of Dinefwr, Dryslwyn and Carreg Cennen, and the fact that the purpose of building these was to protect the land and preserve it in order to ensure a supply of food through raising and fattening cattle.
I then had the pleasure of buying a book, Clymau, Plethiadau, Gweadau a Rhwydi by E Lloyd Jones, one of the most cultured members of the Union in Ceredigion. A humble person with a sharp memory. This is not the first book he has written as he has previously published a book on the history of Talgarreg, and rumour has it that he has another interesting book in the pipeline.
Monday
In the morning I was present at an event, "Our mental health" by the young members of the Welsh Youth Parliament. Amongst their concerns were achieving high academic grades, and the lockdown period. Then I had the privilege of taking part in a panel held in Pabell y Cymdeithasau alongside people much younger than myself, namely the chairman of the Union in Ceredigion Morys Ioan, Teleri Fielden, FUW Policy Officer and Mared Rand Jones, RWAS Head of Operations discussing the future of agriculture. The room was packed and the discussion was very entertaining. Thank you to the Union staff who organised the event and to those members who attended.
As the afternoon drew on, I listened to a tribute to the late Aled Roberts, Welsh Language Commissioner, a friend of the Welsh language and the agricultural industry. Aled was a person I had the privilege of meeting on many occasions when he was an Assembly Member in order to discuss agricultural matters, and he will be greatly missed.
Tuesday
I listened to an inspiring and positive speech by Rhiannedd Richards, who is the head of BBC Wales, on the way forward for broadcasting, and feeling the importance that as a Union we lead the way in this area in order to get our message heard by the public. Then I went on to listen to a panel discussing 'Climate and Peace'. Although I was afraid that I would disagree in this session, I must say that the panel was quite balanced.
Thursday
The news headlines were dominated by the oat milk saga which led us to meet with the leader and chief executive of Ceredigion County Council. We also attended a meeting with Natural Resources Wales to discuss the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
Later I had the privilege of meeting the winner of the Prose Medal, Sioned Erin Hughes, when she came to our stand for a cup of tea. Quite an achievement for a 24-year-old girl to win such an honour, although in Caernarfonshire we’re well aware of her successes at the county's YFC Eisteddfod. I have to say that I feel quite chuffed that the YFC and Sioned's upbringing as a farmer's daughter have contributed somewhat to her success.
I then took part in a "Nid yw Cymru ar Werth" march as this is in line with our beliefs as a Union. Following this, it was nice to hear a statement from Jeremy Miles MS Minister for Education and Welsh Language stating that he will be launching a "Commission for Welsh-speaking Communities". The members will share their experiences and expertise from several policy areas including the economy, housing, education, local government, community regeneration, technology, language planning and many other areas.
It is fair to say that such a development is very close to our policy aspirations as a Union. We have said on several occasions that the future of the countryside and the language flows from the economy, and it was nice to see all the lobbying work bear fruit. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to further influence the Commission's work.
Then I listened to an interesting lecture by Richard Wyn Jones on why the Labour Party here in Wales have won every election for a century, and following that, I attended an interesting meeting arranged by Aberystwyth University on the future of further education here in Wales.
Then, it was nice to go and listen to a panel discussing the Future of Broadcasting and Communication, and it was even nicer to hear one of the panel recognise the work of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, who also thanked us for our presence. Following an extremely busy day, I was part of the audience for Pawb a’i Farn which was broadcasted live from the Eisteddfod.
Friday
Although the First Minister of Wales was accepted to the Gorsedd under the name of Mark Pengwern, a very special person from the Union was also accepted on the same day, Glyn Senni. Yes indeed, our Glyn, Glyn Powell. It was a great privilege to welcome him to our stand to enjoy a tea party to celebrate being accepted to the Gorsedd and his 90th birthday. Many congratulations to you Glyn.
Another of our Union's stalwarts celebrated his birthday during the Eisteddfod week, and we also wished Dafydd Williams, Pembrokeshire a very happy birthday.
Saturday
First duty of the day was representing the Union on a "Mental health in agriculture" panel. Everyone felt the need to break the stigma related to such problems and the importance that the psychiatrists and doctors understand agriculture. The Union will continue with our work in this area.
During the afternoon I listened to an address from the President of the Eisteddfod, Ben Lake MP for Ceredigion. He emphasised the importance of agriculture to the future of our rural communities and the Welsh Language which are two subjects that are key to the Union's work.
Towards the end of the afternoon I had the opportunity to wander around the Maes to look for a good book. One book that grabbed my attention was "Ar Drywydd Twm Carnabwth" by Hefin Wyn. Twm was the leader of Merched Beca (Rebecca Riots) leading the farmers of Preseli to destroy the Efailwen tollgate in 1839. Strangely enough on my way back from Pembrokeshire Show I travelled over the Preseli Mountains towards the direction of Crymych, and to my surprise near Mynachlog Ddu I saw a sign for Carnabwth on a crossroads which pointed towards the farm. It is interesting to consider the great contribution farmers have made to the history of Wales.
In addition to the above, we had several meetings with politicians during an extremely busy week and I must apologise if I did not have as much time as I would have wanted to chat more with members. I must thank Union and FUWIS staff for their hard work during the Eisteddfod and for the preparation work beforehand. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone and thanks to Gwion for cleaning the red carpet ready for 2023 Llŷn ac Eifionydd!
One thing I will definitely remember about Tregaron Eisteddfod is the friendliness of the local people, as well as the sympathy amongst the public towards our industry. This support for agriculture is something we should be proud of when looking forward positively to the future.
On to the Agricultural Shows…
August was a busy month for shows, and this year, it's so nice to be able to enjoy the company and welcome members who we haven't seen face to face for three years. The first show I went to over the summer was the Anglesey Show. There was a real buzz at our stand, and we had meetings with the following politicians: Lesley Griffiths Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Senedd Cymru; Llyr H Griffiths; Mabon ap Gwynfor; Rhun ap Iorwerth, Senedd Cymru. On the second day, there was a constructive meeting with Welsh Government officials.
On Wednesday the following week, I travelled down to the Pembrokeshire show, and once again there was a real buzz and a warm welcome at our stand. The first politicians we met were Simon Hart MP, former Secretary of State for Wales and Stephen Crabb MP, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee. TB issues were discussed, as well as the Levelling Up Fund and at what stage we are at in the process of changing from the old European system of the Structural Funds. We also discussed the trade agreements and the huge problems arising from the increase in costs facing our members. We then had an opportunity to meet with Cefin Campbell; Lesley Griffiths; Eluned Morgan; Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz, of Senedd Cymru.
On to Denbigh and Flint show, and congratulations to the county for winning the second best stand on the field. They were third last time the show was held, and as Mari, our Denbigh and Flint County Executive Officer said: "Things are going in the right direction to win next time!" Good luck!
There was passion in the way the county officials questioned the politicians, and there were continuous meetings from 11 in the morning until 4.30 in the afternoon with Mark Isherwood; Darren Miller; Sam Rowlands; Mabon ap Gwynfor and Carolyn Thomas of Senedd Cymru. There was also an opportunity to hear Denbighshire County Council leader Jason McLellan discussing our manifesto with county councillors.
In general the points raised with Members of the Senedd were:
The Agriculture Bill will be presented to the Senedd in September/October, and it must be noted that if it does not become law by 31 December 2024, Agriculture powers will return to Westminster.
The Bill will include -
Sustainable Farming Scheme
Funding for the industry
Data collection
Forestry
Tenancy matters
Capturing wild animals in snares
Trading standards
Carcass assessment
Intervention in Agricultural Matters
We will continue to lobby for securing income for agricultural families as well as protecting food security.
As you can see there are far reaching implications in the Bill, it is correct to say that the fate of agriculture for the next 10 to 15 years depends on getting this right, and I am not exaggerating to say this is the most important issue for agriculture in Wales since the Agriculture Act 1947, so I can assure you that as a Union we will leave no stone unturned to ensure fairness for the future of our industry.
Another point we raised was the Sustainable Farming Scheme. Although we welcome that the scheme is heading in the right direction, and the fact that it is still a consultative document, we are concerned about many of the elements, including of course the ten percent of trees, and we will fight against this . Also, we will fight for the importance of food security and keeping people in the countryside by ensuring that the income of our farms is sustainable. It is essential to have a maximum (cap) on the money for each holding, as seen in the previous system.
It is also necessary to ensure that the 'active farmer' rule is strong enough to make sure that the money goes to family farms, as they make the biggest contribution to the local economy.
The increasing costs associated with the effects of the War in Ukraine and the drought are very timely issues. The politicians' attention was drawn to the prices of fertiliser, energy and fuel, as well as the possibilities of not having enough crops to feed our animals over the winter season. We certainly do not want to be in the same situation as we were a few years ago when there was a crop shortage, and worse than that, it was being exported to Ireland as the Irish could pay more for it because their Government provided them with financial support to buy it.
Water Resources (NVZ) and all the costs that arise from these new rules was another major concern that was discussed. As a Union we will implore the Members of the Senedd to adopt the recommendations of the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee.
TB is at the back of every farmer's mind, and there was a thorough discussion on the subject within the different counties. We were lucky to have Hazel Wright (our animal health specialist) with us. The politicians must realise the psychological effect this has on the health of our farmers.
Another issue of great importance is that large companies are buying our farms to plant trees in order to offset carbon. The only thing this does in the context of global warming is that it provides a “licence to pollute”, not to mention the impact on our rural communities.
These were the most important issues that were discussed with the politicians during the above shows, and of course, there were also some local issues discussed within each county. I would like to thank the Policy department for keeping us updated with thorough information.