The Carmarthen branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales held a successful open day at Castell Howell Foods in Cross Hands, which raised approximately £10,000 for the Carmarthenshire Royal Welsh Agricultural Society Appeal.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has written to Defra to challenge its stance on the post-movement testing rules surrounding the movement of cattle from the Low TB Area of Wales into the Low Risk Area of England.

Despite Welsh Government negotiations on the issue, the Defra post-movement testing requirement will remain for farmers moving cattle across the border from Wales and the Union has significant concerns regarding the implications of maintaining the status quo and the detrimental impact that this policy will pose to Welsh farmers.  

The incidence of TB in Wales varies significantly across regions and bovine TB statistics from both Defra and the Welsh Government demonstrate that the Low TB Area of Wales has TB levels which are comparable to, or better than, those provided in the English Low Risk Area.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales and pupils across Wales joined countries around the world to highlight the health benefits of school milk programmes and making dairy a part of a healthy diet.

FUW Milk and Dairy Committee Chairman Dai Miles said: “It’s very important that we as an industry go to schools to promote agriculture and educate the next generation about how their food is produced.

“Milk and dairy products have an important part to play in our daily diet as they provide an important source of protein and calcium and contain essential vitamins and minerals, all of which are needed for a balanced diet.

“Indeed, the exclusion of dairy products from the ‘sugar tax’ demonstrates the role such products play in a healthy diet.”

With an increasing amount of research into milk as a recovery and re-hydration aid, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting milk may be just as effective in these areas as some sports or other energy drinks.

“Milk can definitely help pupils stay hydrated and keep their energy levels up in class and it is a much healthier option than some of the sugary drinks available. I would like to thank our schools across Wales for their support today and hope that we can continue working with them on educating pupils about farming matters and where their food comes from,” added Dai Miles.

A National Assembly for Wales committee has been misled into making a draconian recommendation that would play into the hands of multi-billion pound telecommunication companies, says the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The union has also suggested that the committee may have been naive in not identifying the true motives of those advocating such moves.

Last week, the National Assembly for Wales’ Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee published a report entitled Digital Infrastructure in Wales, which included a recommendation that ‘The Welsh Government should consider making future public subsidy conditional on supporting government policy to improve digital infrastructure, and to ensure that it meets the needs of consumers in the future, in particular any likely convergence between broadband and mobile internet connectivity.’

Responding to the report in a letter to Committee Chair Russell George AM, Gavin Williams, chairman of the FUW’s Land Use and Parliamentary Committee, said: “The Farmers’ Union of Wales has long been a proponent of increasing both broadband and mobile phone coverage in Wales, and has worked closely with Ofcom and others for more than a decade to highlight the needs of Wales’ communities in terms of both.”

Mr Williams goes on to highlight the fact that the union is unaware of any instances where farmers have refused to enter into a fair agreement with commercial companies responsible for digital infrastructure - but is aware of many cases where agreement has been reached between farmers and communication companies but planning permission has been refused, and of instances where companies have behaved in unacceptable and unprofessional ways in order to try and install communication infrastructure on private land.

“There may well be a handful of cases where landowners have been uncooperative, but we would suggest that members of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee have been misled if they believe this is so widespread that it warrants a draconian recommendation to Government, said Mr Williams.

“Rather, we would suggest that the underlying motive for those who have suggested such a barrier exists at any scale is the wish to boost company profits by seeking changes which would allow farmers and landowners to be bullied into signing contracts which do not represent the commercial nature of work and installations.”

Mr Williams concludes his letter by saying, “We share the Committee’s frustrations regarding barriers to broadband and mobile coverage, but find it wholly unacceptable that a National Assembly for Wales committee has been led to believe - some would say naively - that it would be desirable to see multi-billion pound commercial companies boosting their profits by forcing family farms to accept one-sided agreements that in no way reflect the commercial nature of mobile and broadband infrastructure.”

Farmers from Glamorgan have gone all out promoting Welsh lamb when they joined red meat agency Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) at their supermarket tour in Cardiff.

FUW Glamorgan county chairman Richard Walker and FUW Presidential Policy team delegate for South Wales Ian Rickman met with customers at Costco Wholesale UK Ltd. to promote the fine flavours, tenderness and versatility of Welsh Lamb.

It also provided an opportunity to explain the meaning and importance of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo to supermarket shoppers.

Tucked away just outside of Haverfordwest in the beautiful Pembrokeshire countryside and just 5 miles from the coast is Brooksgrove farm. Normally when we think of a farm the usual livestock or dairy business comes to mind, but here you will find neither cow nor sheep.

Brooksgrove Farm is a small family run enterprise and has been in the Rees family since the 1950s. It was originally farmed as a small mixed farm supplying local customers with milk, meat, poultry, eggs and vegetables.

But, like many small farms using this pre-war model of farming, it became increasing difficult to make a living and the farm slowly fell into disrepair.