[caption id="attachment_6645" align="alignleft" width="300"] Discussing future lamb export markets are FUW Vice President Richard Vaughan, Stan Phillips USDA and FUW F&O member Brian Bowen[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has met with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss the future of the Welsh agricultural industry post Brexit.

Union representatives met with USDA representatives Stan Phillips, Counselor for Agricultural Affairs and Steve Knight, Agricultural Specialist, on the first day of the Royal Welsh Show (Monday 18 July).

“We welcomed the opportunity to provide an insight into Wales’ current political, economic and social situation and share information about our farming sector with the US Department of Agriculture here at the Royal Welsh Show,” said FUW Vice President Richard Vaughan following the meeting.

“Sharing experiences and information with our US colleagues is vital in the process of establishing an export market for our Welsh Lamb and Beef but also for us to learn about how they legislate their home agricultural industry,” he added.

“Now more than ever we need to explore other markets, and the US market is one we are keen to develop much stronger relationships with,” said Mr Vaughan .

“The FUW was pleased to hear that significant progress has been made on Welsh lambs exports into the US and we will be interested to see how this market develops in the future”, added Mr Vaughan.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has today launched their agricultural post box at the Royal Welsh Show (Monday, July 18) and is encouraging visitors throughout the show week to post their concerns, ideas and comments about the way forward for agriculture following the EU referendum result.

The FUW has made it clear since the referendum result was made public that the exit strategy from the European Union must be carefully planned and should under no circumstances be rushed.

In line with public opinion, the family farm is recognised as the powerhouse of our rural economies and the most appropriate source of UK agricultural produce and therefore it is critical to the rural economy as a whole that #FarmingMatters are at the top of the priority list of those who are shaping the future post-Brexit.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “It is the future that matters. We must give it 100 percent and create the best outcome for the whole of Wales. Every crisis is an opportunity to find positive solutions and we must find those positive solutions.

“That is why we are calling on our members, farmers and all those second and third sector businesses that are directly or indirectly involved with agriculture to make their voices heard and help us in shaping the future for a strong, prosperous, rural economy post-Brexit.

“I would ask all those who visit the show this week to stop by our pavilion and fill in one of our comment cards and post them in the grass-roots ballot box. We will be revealing the result of the suggestions, concerns and ideas on Thursday (July 21) during our ‘Developing the right solution for agriculture in Wales’ seminar at 11am, to which I would like to invite you all.”

The message from the FUW is clear - Rural Wales needs to be recognised for the part that it can play in building a vibrant Wales and we aim to lead that argument to ensure that everyone realises that #FarmingMatters, especially in a world post-Brexit.

Being connected to the internet and having access to 21st century creature comforts like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat is something many people can’t live without anymore.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales understands how important it is to be connected in this day and age and has put its money where its mouth is by sponsoring the free WIFI at the Royal Welsh Show 2016.

“The range of services and opportunities which are exclusively available through the internet has grown significantly over the past decade, and access to broadband is now regarded as a necessity by the majority of UK businesses and households, but many of those living in rural areas are still without such essential 21st century essentials,” said FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas.

He added that the FUW is fully supportive of moves which encourage the use of online services where they are available and practical in order to reduce administrative burdens and minimise the risk of errors but that more needs to be done to facilitate these options - and key to this is of course access.

Brian Thomas added that: “The FUW has demonstrated its support for online services in terms of our support for RPW Online and the instrumental role we have played in helping our members submit their SAF applications online from the outset.

“However, with access to broadband still well below the national average in many of our rural areas, and farm businesses representing the highest proportion of those with no broadband access, it is essential that the limitations of online services and communications are recognised, and that rural access to broadband is increased.”

The FUW maintains that, given the rate at which the rules relating to agriculture change, and the penalties associated with breaching those rules, it is essential that such changes are communicated to the industry in an accessible format.

Aside from legislative requirements, farms without broadband are also placed at a significant commercial disadvantage in terms of, for example being unable to receive reports from slaughterhouses, being unable to make full use of farm and business software, not having access to online movement records and animal histories, not having access to online resources relevant to animal health, such as that relating to TB and being unable to access information and guidance relevant to their businesses.

For those who have had to diversify into non agricultural businesses, there are also major commercial disadvantages for farms which do not have broadband access, including being unable to properly market products via the internet, being unable to process orders submitted via the internet and tourism, function and events organisation industries are also at a disadvantage, where customers and clients expect and demand broadband access.

“In addition, those who are letting self-catering cottages are placed at a significant disadvantage, as WIFI availability is now required to successfully market their businesses.

“Children are unable to access broadband for their school and college work and anyone who wishes to work from home or explore diversification enterprises, are finding themselves in unfavourable circumstances.

“A lot of work has been done over the past four years to improve services for broadband access and a lot of money has been invested by Welsh Government to improve the ‘superfast’ service – however that service is still not reaching all farmers and rural businesses across Wales,” said Brian Thomas.

The FUW affirms that access to broadband and decent mobile phone coverage is critical in helping Wales become the rural economic powerhouse it needs to be in a world post Brexit and is looking forward continuing discussions with key players and decision makers throughout the course of the Royal Welsh Show week.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has called on the Welsh Government to take the lead in initiating plans for more sustainable and supportive public procurement policies ahead of Brexit.

Speaking at the FUW press conference on Sunday July 17, Union President Glyn Roberts said: “It is within the gift of both the Welsh and UK Government to start planning for more sustainable and supportive public procurement policies - an issue I have already raised with both the First Minister Carwyn Jones and the former Prime Minister David Cameron.

“Hiding behind state-aid rules is no longer an option: our schools, hospitals, armed forces and all other public services deserve access to the top quality produce that we grow here in Wales, and our farmers and rural economies deserve recognition for what they produce.

“I am therefore calling today for immediate action to initiate draft legislation which will mandate the procurement of British produce by the UK public Sector. This will support rather than spite the sectors which lie at the heart of our rural economies and bring innumerable benefits to our nations.”

Glyn Roberts added that in these current times of austerity, there are real concerns that our Governments do not have the capacity to deal with the day-to-day work, let alone the planning needed for Brexit, but in the FUW’s mind undertaking such groundwork is not an option - it is a necessity.

“And this is where The Farmers’ Union of Wales can play such an important role; we know and understand the challenges faced by family farms in Wales. We understand that they have a huge part to play in the wider rural economy and we know that #FarmingMatters,” stressed the Union President.

Glyn Roberts strongly pointed out that the reason #FarmingMatters was because it matters to our food security, matters to our supply chain, matters to our children and also matters to our culture.

He added that: “We must ensure that everyone in a position of Government, and opposition influence is aware of this importance. This week, next week and always -  our commitment is to promote the importance of #FarmingMatters to our economy.”

The current status of bovine TB in Wales could put future trade deals at risk, the Farmers’ Union of Wales warned at its Press Conference on Sunday (July 17) ahead of the Royal Welsh Show.

Addressing the conference, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We know that the current rates of bovine TB may represent a significant threat in terms of meat and dairy exports once we are outside the EU, and there is a real risk that our current TB status could be used against us during trade negotiations.

“This means that we have to proactively address the problem, otherwise we might jeopardise all UK trade negotiations with Europe.”

The FUW’s longstanding policy on proactively managing the wildlife disease reservoir has been well publicised; what has now changed is that failing to implement that policy may lead to the loss of our export markets post-Brexit - the Union President added.

The FUW is now calling on the Welsh Government to initiate a proactive badger management policy at the earliest opportunity to ensure that Wales does not risk losing access to foreign markets.

Glyn Roberts warned: “Let me be absolutely clear here - if we do not sort out the long running problems with Bovine TB we will be putting the UK’s Trade policies at complete risk - we will not be able to trade with the European Union without fixing - or having a clear programme to fix - the issue of Bovine TB.

“This is not just about Dairy - it will impact all sectors. The Welsh Government has it in its powers now to take proactive action and on behalf of all of us who wish to export in the future, I demand that they do take action now. This is not an issue for individual farmers to apply for licenses. It needs a centrally planned and managed solution.

“It is now time for the Welsh Government to accept that they already have powers and responsibilities and they cannot now hide behind EU regulations. It is definitely time for action.”

As the FUW predicted, throwing millions of pounds at badger vaccination in and around north Pembrokeshire has yielded no results whatsoever.

“The clock is now ticking - how fast, we don’t know, but it is ticking, and we need to see our Welsh Government taking the sort of aggressive proactive approach to the disease in wildlife they have taken towards cattle.

“If they don’t, then there is a significant risk that our export negotiations will be at an end before they start,” stressed the FUW President.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has long known that the family farm is the cornerstone of our economy and culture here in Wales and as such Wales has an opportunity to be a rural economic powerhouse post Brexit.

Speaking at the FUW Press Conference on Sunday, July 17, ahead of the Royal Welsh Show, Union President Glyn Roberts said: “In these times of political uncertainty, only a few things are constant: the grass will continue to grow and it will probably rain soon!.

“So we are blessed with those strategic resources that make our industry successful.”

Much political and media attention has recently been focussed on risks to jobs and the local economy in and around the M4 corridor in south Wales - and quite rightly so, the FUW President told delegates.

“But you may be surprised to learn that there are almost as many people engaged in the milk industry in Pembrokeshire as there are people making a living in our Welsh steel industry. Yet there is a clear imbalance in political focus for supporting these two very important industries - an imbalance which also extends to all our agricultural sectors,” said Glyn Roberts.

He added that his aspiration and indeed the intention of the Farmers’ Union of Wales is to change this.

“We want to see the value and importance of the rural economy truly recognised, and to build a visible and valued Rural Powerhouse - not something that attracts industrial focus in a small geographic area, like the north-east Wales “powerhouse” built around foreign manufacturing; what is needed is recognition of the fact that 80 percent of our land mass is rural; that more than a third of Wales’ population live in rural areas; and that farming is the bedrock of our rural communities, without which vast direct and indirect contributions to Wales’ economy as a whole would disappear,” continued the Union President.

He told delegates that the Rural Powerhouse the FUW envisages will take all that is valuable in our rural economies and maximise their outputs and impact. It will recognise the interactions that exist in rural Wales, the communities that work and live together, the networks that support each other and of course the importance of rural Wales to our culture.

Glyn Roberts further stated that : “If you want a clear indication of the cultural importance of farming you need only consider this: in Ceredigion, less than 50 percent of the population now speak Welsh. But within the farming community the percentage is close to 100 percent.

“Consider also the value of the Young Farmers Clubs playing such diverse and vital roles in their communities where they also protect our culture and language so very effectively. There can be no doubt that farming holds these groups together and makes them a real force in our rural communities.”

The message from the FUW is clear - this is not just about farming; it is about the wider recognition of how Farming Matters, where supply chains are involved, how money circulates in the local economy, where people survive, where profits are made, communities are sustained and our culture continues to thrive.

Glyn Roberts, in his speech, asked: “Why is it that the supply chains, which employ millions and ultimately supply the food we eat, through our dairies, slaughterhouses and other processors don’t even appear on the radar of the National Infrastructure Commission? Why do our rural areas not attract the sort of attention and funding the M4 relief road has attracted given their direct importance to our economy, not to mention other key related industries such as tourism - and of course feeding people?”

Addressing the upcoming exit from the European Union the FUW President said: “Since June 23 we have all been immersed in a sea of political turmoil and uncertainty: we know something will happen, we know it will be big and far-reaching, but we don’t know when it will start or when it will end.

“For our part, we have made it clear since the referendum result was announced that matters should be progressed at a sensible pace, and I am pleased to have seen increasing numbers of politicians and commentators coming over to our point of view.”

Glyn Roberts asked those in power to resist the temptation to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty prematurely for a number of reasons, not least because of the vast amount of work which needs to be undertaken to repeal, or redraft the 5,500 acts relating to agriculture and the rural economy; the likely timescales over which trade agreements can be negotiated; the risk that elections in France and Germany would impact on negotiation time and the huge job of unravelling the current CAP and our commitments made under the Multi-Annual FInancial Framework.

“We know what we’ve potentially got until 2020, so let’s stick with it. Let’s maximise the return on what is planned.

“Moving at speed towards Brexit brings with it huge risks, so we certainly don’t want speed - but there is certainly a need for haste in terms of what can be done to prepare for a post-Brexit world, and provide as much clarity as possible in terms of removing confusion, uncertainty and rumour,” he said..

Staying within the Multiannual Financial Framework timescale, as favoured by the FUW, would allow precisely this according to the FUW.

“Setting out detailed expectations for life post-Brexit would of course be inappropriate at this stage, but we have already outlined key overarching priorities for Welsh agriculture to all the political parties, and as a democratic organisation we have initiated a process of consultation with members which will be moved forward at an appropriate pace.

“We are also pleased to be involved with the Welsh Government discussions to plan the future, and so we return to the issue of the creation of a Welsh rural powerhouse.

“Whatever concerns we have, the decision made on June 23, coupled with recognition of the importance of agriculture and our rural communities provides us with an opportunity to create something that is absolutely right for Wales in the near, medium and long term,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.