Montgomeryshire voters will get the chance to quiz the constituency's parliamentary candidates at an open political forum organised by the Farmers' Union of Wales' county branch office.

The event will be held at Tynllwyn, Llanfair Caereinion (SY21 0HE), home of the FUW's county chairman, Arwel Rees, at 11am tomorrow (Friday, April 30).

Representing their parties at the event are: Heledd Fychan (Plaid Cymru), Glyn Davies (Conservatives), Lembit Opik (Liberal Democrats), David Rowlands (UKIP). Labour declined the offer to be present at the hustings.

FUW county chairman Arwel Rees said: "Even though the majority of farming issues are now dealt with by the devolved Welsh Assembly Government there are still a number of important rural issues being determined by Westminster.

"In a rural constituency like Montgomeryshire people have strong views on issues such as fuel duty, supermarket power, rural post offices and broadband availability.

"I hope the event will give farmers the opportunity to quiz the parliamentary candidates on their party's agricultural and rural policies."

Today's decision by the Welsh Assembly's rural affairs minister to extend the Tir Mynydd land management scheme for a further two years while its replacement Glastir scheme is rolled out is recognition of the problems facing Welsh hill farmers, the Farmers' Union of Wales said.

"We welcome Elin Jones's announcement as a small step in the right direction and some consolation to farmers who will be facing considerable cashflow problems during the next few years. However, fundamental concerns remain over the scheme's implementation," said chairman of the FUW's land use committee Richard Vaughan.

The Minister told the Assembly's rural development sub committee all farmers who make a Tir Mynydd claim on their 2010 Single Application Form (SAF) will be able to claim 60% of the payment on their 2011 SAF and 30% on their 2012 SAF.

Any eligible farmer who has not made a Tir Mynydd claim on their 2010 SAF and who has already submitted it to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) is encouraged to contact their Divisional Office as soon as possible, and by no later than 17 May 2010, to modify their SAF application if they wish to benefit from the increased support.

The Minister also paid tribute to the contributions from the FUW and other stakeholders who provided solutions to a range of issues relating to commons and Glastir on the recently established commons working group.

She said: "The group, working closely with my officials over recent weeks, has resolved the remaining difficulties associated with commons entry into Glastir. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when interested parties work together with a positive attitude and towards a shared goal."

But FUW common land committee chairman Lorraine Howells claimed that the minister's comments relating to common land were extremely misleading.

"We fully acknowledge the work of the minister and WAG staff in taking account of the many issues we have raised with them in relation to common land and Glastir, and progress has certainly been made in terms of many of these.

"However, there remain a number of problems in relation to which solutions still need to be found, and I certainly do not agree with the minister that we have 'resolved the remaining difficulties'," said Miss Howells.

"On the contrary, we maintain that the complexity of some issues relating to common land, coupled with the importance of commons to Wales, justifies delaying implementation of the Glastir scheme and an extension to the Tir Mynydd Scheme by at least twelve months."

Voters on Anglesey will get the chance to quiz the island's parliamentary candidates next week at an open political forum on "The agricultural industry and rural Anglesey" organised by the Farmers' Union of Wales' county branch office.

The event will be held on Thursday 29 April at the Bull Coach House, Llangefni, starting at 7.30pm.

The candidates ? Dylan Rees (Plaid Cymru), Anthony Ridge?Newman (Conservatives), Matt Wood (Liberal Democrats), Albert Owen (Labour), Elaine Gill (UKIP), Peter Rogers (Independent) and the Rev Dave Owen (Welsh Christian Party of Wales) will be allowed five minutes to introduce themselves and a question and answer session will follow.

The branch's annual general meeting will be held on Wednesday 19 May at the Cartio?Môn?Karting venue, Bodedern, Anglesey, at 7.30pm when the guest speaker will be Mike Steel, Director of Animal Health in Wales.

Politicians who ignore the central role Welsh family farms play in the community will threaten the livelihoods of thousands of people living and working in rural areas, Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan warned today.

Launching the union's 2010 General Election manifesto "Farming for all our Futures", Mr Vaughan said the family farm was a key entity which had previously been overlooked and undervalued by many of our political leaders.

"Whatever the political issue, whether it is climate change, animal health and welfare, the negotiation of global trade agreements, or any of the other agriculturally-related topics that affect the electorate, the family farm has a central role to play, and those politicians who ignore this do so at our peril," he said.

Meanwhile, as UK politicians battle over the 6 May election, discussions regarding the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are the focus of talks at a European level and the outcome of these may be as influential over the long term welfare of UK citizens as the forthcoming election.

"In 2007 and 2008 countries around the globe suffered conflict and social unrest due to food shortages. In some developed countries major retailers even rationed certain foodstuffs and, in July 2008, a discussion paper issued by DEFRA concluded that 'the current global food security situation is a cause for deep concern', listing high energy prices, poor harvests, rising demand, biofuels and food export bans in some countries as main factors.

"With the world population expected to rise to between nine and 10 billion by 2050, and predicted reductions in global agricultural productivity per hectare, there is clearly a need for appropriate action that balances food production against environmental considerations, and mitigating climate change without compromising food security is one of the most significant long term challenges facing mankind.

"There can be little doubt that joined up policies between Governments are needed to address these issues and the CAP, by design, provides just such a framework, allowing Europe to react to the imminent challenges that growing populations, global warming, rising sea levels, and peak oil represent in terms of food security."

Mr Vaughan accepted devolution had reduced the number of Welsh agricultural issues over which MPs have a direct influence, but said there remain a significant number of overarching policies of significant concern for Welsh rural communities, and the FUW's concerns and aspirations regarding the most significant of these are highlighted in the union's manifesto.

"Many of these topics will be the subject of detailed consideration during the next Parliament, and the decisions taken by Westminster that follow will have vital implications for both the agricultural industry and all UK citizens over the coming years.

"The FUW is not affiliated to any political party and therefore has a duty to work with both the Government of the day and the opposition parties, irrespective of their political persuasions.

"For the period of the next Parliament and beyond the FUW is therefore committed to lobbying all those in Westminster to ensure that agriculture and family farms receive the attention and respect that they warrant - for the sake of all our futures."

The Welsh Assembly Government's High Court judicial review victory over its decision to carry out a limited badger cull in west Wales is not a cause for celebration, according to the Farmers' Union of Wales.

Welcoming the verdict, the union's TB spokesman, vice president Brian Walters, said: "This issue is not just about killing badgers - it's about preventing them and our cattle suffering from this terrible and costly disease.

"It is not a time for celebration - it's time for us to do all we can to stop all further suffering of cattle and wildlife affected by TB.

"Obviously, we are glad that the judge has ratified the considered views of the veterinary establishment and those scientific experts who have advised the Assembly's rural affairs minister.

"Now that the legal system has backed the Assembly's holistic approach to this issue we hope the preparations for the cull in the pilot area, together with more widespread cattle testing and further improvements to on-farm bio-security measures, will be allowed to proceed unhindered.

FORMER Farmers' Union of Wales deputy president Tom H Jones FRAgS has been elected a life member of the union in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the union and Welsh agriculture over many years.

Mr Jones fills the vacancy created by the death of influential past president Hugh Robert Môn Hughes OBE. Mr Jones of Maes Mawr, Llanfechell, Amlwch, was the union's deputy president in 1989-90 and vice president between 1984 and1989.

Mr Jones, a well-known dairy farmer, was awarded the FUW's internal award for services to Welsh agriculture in 2007.

He was educated at the University College of North Wales Bangor from 1968 to 1972, graduating with an honours degree in agriculture and agricultural economics.

From 1972 to 1975 he was a Milk Marketing Board (MMB) farm management consultant, working in East Anglia and Dyfed.

He was elected the MMB's regional member for North Wales in 1990. Three years later he was appointed a non-executive director of Dairy Crest plc, and was a member of the Audit Committee and chaired the Appointments Committee.

A past chairman of the Welsh Federation of Grassland Society, Mr Jones is also a former member of the Welsh Office Agriculture Advisory Panel and remains a member of the Welsh Assembly Government's Dairy Industry Working Group.

In February 2004, he was appointed a member of the Milk Development Council and in June the same year he was elected as a member of Anglesey County Council where he still represents the Llanfechell ward and holds the finance portfolio on the cabinet.

Announcing Mr Jones' selection at a meeting of the union's grand council, FUW life member Glyn Powell said: "Several names were put forward and after discussions on the amount of service they had given to the union we decided to recommend the election of Tom Jones." The recommendation was accepted unanimously by the union's grand council.

Responding to the appointment, Mr Jones said: "I am very grateful for this acknowledgment from my own kind of people and I consider it a great honour and privilege to be joining such an elite group."