The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed the Chancellor's acceptance of the union's recent demands on him to scrap plans for a 4p fuel duty hike next month and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser scheme without further delay.

"For once, we are pleased that the Chancellor has heeded the demands of farmers living in rural Wales seriously affected by the current surge in inflation," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.

"We had genuine concerns that motorists in Welsh rural communities would see prices rise by an extra five pence per litre (ppl) or almost 23p per gallon at the pumps next month.

"So the Chancellor's Budget announcement to cut fuel duty by 1p immediately and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser is welcome. But we also note with interest his admission in the Budget Speech that this will not end the pressure on family budgets.

"When I urged the Chancellor in January to scrap next month's fuel duty increase and introduce a fair fuel stabiliser scheme, prices for unleaded petrol across Wales were already reported to be running at £1.32ppl and up to five pence more for diesel.

"I believe that we had by then reached a critical point at which action must be taken to significantly reduce fuel tax in order to aid the economy.

"The FUW is very much in favour of the early introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser, where duty is cut when oil prices soar and goes up again when prices fall, as this will be much fairer on rural dwellers.

"Bearing in mind that there is a difference of as much as five pence per litre between rural and city garages in Wales already, any added fuel duty coupled with rising oil prices is devastating to rural communities all over the UK.

"It is grossly unfair that we here in the UK pay far more for our fuel than any other country and the fault lies with the extortionate level of tax imposed by the Government," said Mr Vaughan.

The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed a decision by badger campaigners Pembrokeshire Against the Cull (PAC) not to repeat misleading claims in a leaflet distributed to homes in the county and published on the internet.

The decision comes after a complaint by the FUW triggered an eight-month investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). PAC has since agreed not to repeat the advertisement and to amend problematic claims in line with the ASA's Advertising Code.

FUW TB spokesman Brian Walters described the decision as a "welcome U-turn". He added: "It is unfortunate that it took an eight-month investigation and the publication of a draft ruling by the ASA for PAC to finally cave in and admit that they published misleading claims, but we are glad they have finally conceded.

"PAC's decision to accept they were wrong means the ASA has allowed the complaint to be closed informally, saving PAC the embarrassment of being ruled against in a formal adjudication."

The original leaflet - which has now been removed from PAC's website - claimed that "2 ½ years after the [badger] cull finishes, this benefit [the reduction of bTB] disappears"; that "WAG's cattle measures are inadequate, and it has signally [sic] failed to address the most important route of infection, cattle-to-cattle"; that "there are no plans to control the movement of cattle within, into or out of the [north Pembrokeshire culling] area based on TB risk"; and that "Vaccination will help with TB eradication, culling will not".

"The FUW provided scientific evidence demonstrating why these statements breached Committee of Advertising Practice Code clauses on Truthfulness and Substantiation," said Mr Walters.

"The ASA agreed with us, and PAC has now been forced to admit they were wrong.

"This gives out a clear message to politicians and the public that messages issued by single issue groups established to protect badgers need to be taken with a massive pinch of salt.

"Pembrokeshire Against the Cull is a newly established organisation with only one objective, and as far as I am aware they were previously indifferent to the nightmare TB epidemic which has faced Pembrokeshire farmers for decades.

"Conversely, the Farmers' Union of Wales has been involved in the science of bTB for more than 50 years, and our views have been established following careful gathering and consideration of all the scientific evidence over a period of decades.

"We don't want to see either badgers or cattle being culled, but when you are faced with a massive disease epidemic in both animals you have to take action."

The Farmers' Union of Wales has welcomed the Welsh Assembly Government's acceptance of the bulk of recommendations by the independent group's review of the controversial Glastir agri-environment scheme but raised concerns that the part acceptance of some options and the seeming lack of urgency about an urgent review of the payment rates will reduce the flexibility of the scheme to future applicants.

FUW president Gareth Vaughan said the union was disappointed that some of the group's recommendations which would have introduced a greater degree of flexibility into the scheme had been rejected wholly or in part although there is much to welcome.

"We are genuinely concerned that the main opportunities provided by the package of 69 recommendations put together by Rees Roberts' review group, which represented a way of making the scheme more attractive to farmers, could be jeopardized due to delays in reviewing the costings.

"Until the costings more accurately reflect reality, the scheme is not going to be that attractive to farmers. We now fear that the costings exercise, which was considered urgent by the group, is going to take a while to complete.

"We are also disappointed that the opportunity to re-visit the all-important LFA element of the scheme has only been accepted in part."

Entries are now being invited from individuals or organisations for the 2011 Farmers' Union of Wales Pembrokeshire Countryside Business Award which aims to highlight the achievements of younger farmers in the county.

Entrants do not have to be a mainstream farmer to enter, said the union's Pembrokeshire county chairman Dai Miles.

"They could be undertaking some form of diversification project on their farm or providing a service to the agricultural sector such as silage or slurry contracting.

"Last year's runner-up, for example, uses his computer skills to help install and maintain robotic milking systems and also works with vets to maintain computer links between them and the herd health schemes used by their farm clients.

"If the agricultural industry is to have a future in Pembrokeshire it is vital that we not only encourage new entrants into the industry, but that we also acknowledge the hard work of existing younger farmers and nurture them.

"In presenting this award we hope that the dedication and determination of the younger generation of farmers in the county will be highlighted and applauded," he added.

The award will be presented to an individual 40 years of age or under who, in the opinion of the judges, has shown a determination and dedication to the agricultural industry in Pembrokeshire, whether it be through farming in their own right, undertaking some form of diversification project on their farm or by providing a service to the agricultural sector.

To be eligible for the award the individual must be:

• 40 years of age or under on January 1, 2011.

• Actively involved in agricultural production or land management.

• Normally resident within Pembrokeshire.

The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday May 20, 2011, with application forms being available from the FUW county office, 3 North Street, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire SA61 2JE. Previous applicants are also welcome to re-apply.

A cash prize, perpetual trophy and a year's free membership will be awarded to the winner.

Last year's winner Neil Perkins, 31, of Dinas Island Farm, Newport, Pembrokeshire, has converted his family's beef and sheep farm to a low-cost sheep business financially successful in an environment without subsidies.

One of the judges, FUW county president Dafydd Williams, said: "Neil demonstrated a clear vision of what he wished to do following a visit to New Zealand on a Nuffield scholarship.

"His father agreed and their plan was supported by their landlords, the National Trust. Neil has a clear understanding of the industry as it moves into a period of much lower financial support from Government."

Welsh dairy farmers have expressed concerns about the adverse effect of flat milk supply profiles on their farm-gate prices.

Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Eifion Huws has written to Dairy UK chairman Robert Wiseman highlighting the impact flat profiles throughout the year are having on many dairy farm margins.

"While conversion to a flatter profile naturally incurs significant costs, maintaining such a profile is also much more costly than producing milk in accordance with the seasons, and this is particularly the case in many areas of Wales," wrote Mr Huws, who runs a dairy farm on Anglesey and is the FUW's milk committee chairman.

"Notwithstanding our concerns regarding the farm-gate price of milk in general, which you are well aware of, we do not believe that the majority who incur the extra costs associated with flat profiles receive farm-gate prices which are sufficient to make up for these costs.

"It has often been stated by Dairy UK and individual processors that the advantages of seasonal production for farmers are more than offset by the associated costs of seasonal variations in processing, and that flatter profiles therefore increase the overall income of the industry.

"Given this, we believe that dairy farmers should be afforded a fair income for their milk which fully takes account of the cost of production, including any increased input costs which benefit the dairy industry as a whole.

"I would therefore be grateful if you would raise this issue with members of Dairy UK, with a view to redressing the above concerns at the earliest possible opportunity."

Dairy UK represents the interests of dairy farmers, producer co-operatives, manufacturers of dairy products, and processors and distributors of liquid milk throughout the United Kingdom. Between them Dairy UK's members collect and process about 85% of UK milk production.

[caption id="attachment_4261" align="aligncenter" width="300"] NICHOLAS JOHN SOMERFIELD[/caption]

A former chairman and president of the Farmers’ Union of Wales Carmarthenshire county branch has been made a life member of the organisation.

Seventy-four-year-old Nicholas John Somerfield, who farms Welsh Mountain hill sheep and Gelbvieh and Welsh Black suckler cows on his 220-acre hill farm at Crug-las, Bethlehem, near Llangadog, has been a member of the FUW for 48 years.

He will fill the vacancy left by John Price, of Ddafadfa Isaf, Gwynfe, near Llangadog, who died last July.

Together with his wife Kyra, Mr Somerfield also runs a small herd of British Toggenburg dairy goats, one of the longest established in Wales, which has exported stock worldwide during the last 25 years.

Many were sent to set up third world aid projects in Africa and Mrs Somerfield has twice visited Ethiopia to evaluate the progress of herd development there.

Brought up at Send, near Woking, Surrey, Mr Somerfield joined the FUW in 1963 when he and his wife moved to their Brecon Beacons farm.

He was chairman and member of the union's land use committee for 22 years when he actively campaigned for the needs of small Welsh family farms.

"Based on the principle that any organisation requires input as well as out-take, I have endeavoured to contribute towards the union's efforts on behalf of the membership," he said.

He is currently a National Park Forum and Wales Biodiversity Action Group Member and used to be a member of the Environment Agency's environment protection advisory committee and the Countryside Council for Wales.

In 2005 he was awarded a silver salver by the FUW in recognition of his services to the union and to the agricultural industry in Wales.

Announcing Mr Somerfield’s selection at a meeting of the union’s grand council, former FUW deputy president Glyn Powell said: “Several names were put forward and we had a difficult task choosing just one.

"After discussions on the amount of service and the commitment they had all given to the union we decided unanimously to recommend the election of Nicholas John Somerfield.”