A farming family from South Wales have stressed the need for continued collaboration with the Welsh Government after some major opportunities were missed in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

Hosting a farm visit for Conservative Member of the Senedd Joel James, the Jones family stressed that the Sustainable Farming Scheme, currently still in development, must deliver on the shortcomings of the Bill if sustainable, thriving, family farms are going to be a reality in Wales for generations to come.

Lynne Jones and his family run Fforch farm. They keep 300 Glamorgan Welsh mountain sheep along with 65 breeding cows. The family started off with highland cattle to cope with the hardiness of the mountain, crossed with Short horns and salers. They have now moved on to cross them with Charolais and Aberdeen Angus bulls.

Farmers’ Union of Wales officials have met with the Rt. Hon the Lord Deben (John Gummer), Chairman of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and Dr Nikki Rust, Head of Nature, Land & Agriculture at the CCC to discuss the role played by agriculture in future net-zero policies.

The FUW raised numerous suggestions and concerns related to achieving net zero- many of which were shared by Lord Deben and Dr Rust on behalf of the CCC. 

Issues discussed included the dangers of off-shoring emissions due to trade deals and imported food, the need for a well-thought through and financed transition for farmers, meat and dairy consumption proposals, tree-planting, carbon calculators and the need for low-carbon farming practices to make business sense for farmers. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has expressed its disappointment at some of the missed opportunities in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, as it progressed through it’s penultimate scrutiny stage on Tuesday 16 May.

Representatives of the FUW were in the gallery to watch Senedd Members debate amendments tabled on economic viability, support for new entrants and energy efficiency.

The landmark legislation will provide the framework for future agriculture support in Wales and is the first time Wales will have legislated in this way. The FUW has maintained since the introduction of the bill that the absence of economic viability of agricultural businesses and family farms from the Sustainable Land Management objectives is a significant concern.

“The Agriculture (Wales) Bill must support the next generation of farmers” - that was the key message from the Farmers’ Union of Wales Younger Voice for Farming committee chair, Gemma Haines, at a meeting with local Members of the Senedd.

Welcoming Sarah Murphy, MS for Bridgend, and Huw Irranca-Davies, MS for Ogmore, to her farm, Gemma stressed that it was disappointing that there is still no explicit mention of support for young/new entrants in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

“Whilst there is an opposition amendment tabled at Stage 3 which would correct this, and the FUW has lobbied for this to happen since the introduction of the Bill, support for tenants, new entrants and common land graziers are also missing from the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposals. We urgently need to correct this so that these new policies support the next generation of farmers,” said Gemma Haines.

Mrs Haines added that it was encouraging to see that as part of the ongoing co-design, working groups have been set up on each of these areas.

“We hope the outcomes of the groups will be reflected in the final consultation expected later this year,” she said.

Union officials further stressed that the Universal Actions and SFS contract length must be achievable (or flexible enough) and proportionate for all farming systems and regions (including tenants and commoners), with a high enough associated baseline payment to ensure a critical mass of farmers are able to access the scheme.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed the launch of the ‘Gwaredu Scab’ project, which aims to combat sheep scab outbreaks across Wales by offering funding to diagnose and treat infected sheep.

Gwaredu Scab is funded by the Welsh Government, with £1.5 million committed each year for a minimum of two years.  The project, which is led by Coleg Sir Gâr, offers a completely free service from diagnosis through to whole flock treatment.

 FUW Deputy Head of Policy Dr Hazel Wright, said: ‘We have eagerly awaited the launch of the Gwaredu Scab project ever since funding for such a project was announced by the Minister for Rural Affairs in January 2019.

The Agriculture Research Centre at the Coleg Sir Gar Gelli Aur Campus hosted a visit for delegates of the Farmers’ Union of Wales’ eleven Standing Committees to demonstrate some of the innovative projects on slurry management.

FUW committee delegates, officials and staff heard from John Owen, Project Manager at the ARC, about two key projects - the Tywi Farm Nutrient Partnership and the Tywydd Tywi Weather App - before seeing how both initiatives work in practice on the farm to manage slurry in an effective way.

Speaking after the visit FUW Deputy President Ian Rickman said: “The Water Resources Regulations will impact every farm business across Wales to some extent. With the introduction of the second stage of requirements in January, it was a more appropriate time than ever to organise this visit in coordination with the ARC to help us understand some of the alternative measures and technological solutions that are being developed in terms of slurry management.

“The FUW has always supported this excellent work and the development of potential alternatives to the current regulations, and it was great to see so many of our Standing Committee delegates attend the visit in person after a difficult few years of virtual meetings.”

The Tywydd Tywi Weather App works using weather stations which collect various soil and plant characteristics to allow farmers to make informed decisions on nutrient management and pesticide applications based on a traffic light system, whilst the Tywi Farm Nutrient Partnership focuses primarily on the potential recirculation of on-farm nutrients.

FUW Policy Officer Elin Jenkins added: “These projects demonstrate how technology has moved on since the EU NVZ regulations were introduced under the 1991 EU Nitrates Directive - on which the Water Resources Regulations are primarily based. We truly hope the Welsh Government recognises the potential technological solutions have in helping to address water pollution, and the regulations must be reviewed to allow for that flexibility."

“We would like to thank the ARC team at Gelli Aur for the warm welcome the FUW received and for the opportunity to witness this innovative work,” Mr Rickman added.