FUW BACKS £3.3 MILLION BOOST FOR DAIRY INDUSTRY

THE Farmers' Union of Wales today broadly welcomed the Welsh Assembly Government's decision to invest £3.3 million in the Welsh dairy industry over the next three years.

The project, funded by the Supply Chain Efficiencies (SCE) scheme operates through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

The SCE scheme provides financial support for co-operation projects that will develop new products, processes and technologies in the agriculture, food and forestry sectors.

The aim of the project is to help improve levels of efficiency, sustainability and added value in the dairy supply chain.

FUW milk committee chairman Eifion Huws said: "We are glad that the government has heeded our warning and are planning to invest in what is truly a struggling industry.

"I am sure that many farmers will find advice, support and information on issues such as energy efficiency, maximising production efficiency and profits, beneficial, but advice alone will not help tackle the problems that dairy farmers face on a daily basis.

"Without a fair price for their milk, a number of farmers will find that they don't have the means to act on the advice given to them.

"The crux of the matter is that many farmers are still being paid less for their milk than it costs to produce it.

"Of course this investment is a step in the right direction but without greater transparency throughout the supply chain farmers will continue to be short changed.

"Farmers in Wales are already bearing the brunt of lower milk prices compared to the UK as a whole and steps need to be taken to ensure that Welsh farmers are given a level playing field.

"All the sustainability and efficiency measures in the world cannot make a dairy farm profitable without a prolonged period of price stability.

"Only then will farmers have the confidence to invest in the future."

FUW ISSUES STARK WARNING OVER IACS/SAF PENALTIES

The Farmers' Union of Wales today warned farmers to take extra care when filling in their single payment forms - or risk losing all of their Single Payments.

FUW president Gareth Vaughan said: "Over recent years the FUW has dealt with significant numbers of cases where inadvertent errors have led to members losing a large proportion of their Single Payments.

"In some cases, tiny errors such as a box ticked incorrectly have led to the loss of entire Single Payments, equating to losses of tens of thousands of pounds for farm businesses."

The FUW has lobbied the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Parliament on the issue over a long period, urging them to adopt a proportionate approach to mistakes that are obvious errors or are the result of exceptional circumstances.

"However, WAG insists that the rules relating to obvious errors are extremely narrow and that EU auditors give them little or no leeway to be fair. This is even the case where all parties acknowledge that an inaccuracy was an inadvertent error," Mr Vaughan said.

He also urged farmers to carefully check the IACS/SAF acknowledgement letters that are issued by WAG as soon as they are received, and to notify any errors to WAG immediately.

"If WAG detects an error, the first a farmer may know about it is when they fail to receive their Single Payment in December. They will then have to go through the appeals process, which can take years and cost thousands of pounds, with no guarantee of a positive outcome at the end."

Mr Vaughan added: "Farmers should also notify WAG of any exceptional circumstances or Force Majeure that may affect their businesses as soon they are in a position to do so.

"We believe that many of the penalties applied under the current regime are completely immoral and disproportionate, and some of the cases the FUW has dealt with are truly heartbreaking. We are therefore committed to fighting for a more proportionate and fair penalty system.

"However, under the current regime the best way to minimise the risk of penalties is by checking and double-checking every single detail on the IACS, and by exercising extreme caution with regard to every aspect of the farm management and paperwork."

FUW VAT ON-LINE CAMPAIGN GATHERS SUPPORT

Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan today hailed the growing support the union has received for its campaign against HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) "absurd" decision to force farmers in areas with no or poor broadband provision to fill out their monthly or quarterly VAT returns on-line from 1 April this year.

Mr Vaughan, who lives in a broadband blackspot in Powys, welcomed Clwyd West MP David Jones' decision to protest to HMRC's director general Dave Hartnett stressing there are many areas of North Wales, including Gwytherin and Cwmpenanner in his constituency, which have no satisfactory broadband access.

Mr Vaughan also welcomed support from website ISPreview.co.uk - an independent source of Internet Service Provider (ISP) information, listings and reviews since 1999 - which stated HMRC's move "appears absurd" at a time when the Government's own Universal Service Commitment (USC), which aims to deliver a minimum broadband ISP speed of at least 2Mbps to virtually every household in the UK by 2012, has not even begun to be implemented.

In his letter to Mr Hartnett, Mr Jones described HMRC's position as wholly unreasonable and asked for an exemption for farmers in such circumstances. He has also written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, pointing out the unreasonableness of HMRC's position.

Mr Vaughan said: "We do not have broadband access at my farm in Dolfor, near Newtown - we were told our line is too antiquated for broadband.

"It's obvious that the HMRC don't fully appreciate the problems facing farmers and other businesses in rural communities like Powys. The age structure of the industry is such that lots of us grew up before the widespread use of computers and we're going to struggle."

The FUW's development director Emyr James had earlier contacted HMRC to find out what alternatives could they suggest if farmers were not able to go on-line. They replied that farmers could ask family or friends, who have a computer, to offer them Internet access or employ the services of an agent who could file the return on their behalf.

"This is a typically heavy-handed government approach, showing very little appreciation of the true situation for many small-to-medium-sized enterprises," said Mr James.

As a temporary solution the FUW will provide a service at its county offices where staff will file members' VAT returns on-line on their behalf. The paper-based summary should be completed in the normal way and taken to the county office.

FUW SLAMS 'HEAVY-HANDED' HMRC

The Farmers' Union of Wales today accused the UK Government's Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) of adopting a "heavy-handed" attitude by forcing farmers in areas with no or poor broadband provision to fill in their VAT returns on-line.

The union's business development director Emyr James reminded farmers of a legal obligation to comply with new regulations relating to filing VAT returns on-line, effective from 1 April this year, but HMRC has no alternative option for those who don't use a computer or don't have access to broadband.

Mr James was commenting on HMRC's reply to FUW representations on behalf of its members who, because of their location, are unable to receive broadband and have no plans to go on-line. "They have confirmed the legislation does not provide exemption and there will be no 'alternative' method to filing on-line.

"To fulfil their obligation, HMRC suggest that they could ask family or friends, who have a computer, to offer them Internet access or, alternatively, employ the services of an agent who could file the return on their behalf," he said.

"This is a typically heavy-handed government approach, showing very little appreciation of the true situation for many small-to-medium-sized enterprises.

"There is still a generation of people in society who did not grow up in an Internet environment and some consideration should have been shown towards this group of people.

"There are many farmers for whom the Internet remains an unfamiliar skill, whilst there are some who distrust modern communications technology. Also, many parts of rural Wales have no reliable broadband provision at all."

To overcome the problem, the FUW will provide a service at its county offices where staff will file members' VAT returns on-line on their behalf. The paper-based summary will be completed in the normal way and taken to the county office.

"This will complement a similar service already provided by county offices, whereby stock movements are registered with BCMS electronically," said Mr James.

FARMERS FAILED BY CHANCELLOR'S ELECTION-FUELED BUDGET

THE Chancellor has once again left Welsh farmers bitterly disappointed after failing to take on board the Farmers Union of Wales' demand for a freeze on fuel duty and the establishment of a fuel duty regulator, said the union's president today.

Instead Mr Darling announced that fuel duty will rise by 1p in April followed by further 1p rises in October and January. "This staggered approach will do nothing to alleviate rural dwellers' high transports costs and it will also ensure that we will see a rise in fuel costs for the foreseeable future," said Gareth Vaughan.

"The rising costs of transportation are having a profound effect on the sustainability of the agricultural industry. The current economic climate, coupled with high oil prices and a lack of investment in alternative fuel opportunities, has resulted in a significant increase in overheads for primary producers who cannot pass these costs up the marketing chain.

"The Chancellor's failure to freeze all fuel duty rises will leave us on an unfair playing field compared to our competitors and there is no doubt every commodity that has to be transported to rural areas will now cost farmers much more in the future.

"The effect of Mr Darling's decisions mean that farming suffers badly because for every 2p per litre rise in fuel duty the annual operating costs of just one 44-tonne articulated lorry increases by up to £900 - inevitably leading to increased prices for animal feedstuffs, fertiliser, and all other products farmers have to purchase," added Mr Vaughan.

On a more positive note, the union welcomed the decision to introduce a duty of 50p a month on all phone landlines to finance the availability of super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.

"The FUW has long campaigned that the lack of effective broadband in many parts of Wales is putting rural businesses at a severe disadvantage. I hope that this move will eradicate any black-spots that currently exist in Wales.

"Access to a fast internet connection is also becoming an increasingly useful tool for farmers with registering cattle movements online a regular task. It is vital that we have effective access to broadband technology to carry out these tasks quickly and efficiently," said Mr Vaughan.

The union also praised the Chancellor's decision to double the stamp duty limit for first time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000.

Mr Vaughan added: "We welcome this support for first time buyers as we hope it will allow young people who wish to stay in our rural communities to purchase houses within their locality.

"Retaining young people in rural communities is imperative for the sustainability of rural Wales."

FUW BRANDS QUEEN GUITARIST VISIT AS ‘CYNICAL PUBLICITY STUNT’

The Farmers' Union of Wales today branded Queen guitarist Brian May's decision to attend the judicial review in Swansea of the proposed badger cull in north Pembrokeshire as a "cynical publicity stunt".

FUW vice president Brian Walters, who has seen the rural community in which he has lived all his life ravaged by bTB over the past decade, said: "It is completely galling for those who have to live with the misery and financial losses caused by TB to see a millionaire rock star dropping in to talk about the proposed cull when he has no idea of the desperate need to control this disease.

"When was the last time Brian May had to go cap in hand to a landlord or the bank manager to explain that a TB outbreak meant he couldn't keep up with payments?

"People are having their livelihoods destroyed. The epidemic is ripping families and communities apart, driving people to the very edge and costing the lives of tens of thousands of cattle each year in Wales alone.

"Farmers do not have the luxury of sitting back and collecting recording royalties while pontificating about issues that do not affect them. We have seen tens of thousands of cattle taken away due to TB, yet we have not heard a single word from Brian May regarding this slaughter.

"Yet when the Welsh Government proposes a small-scale badger cull in an area where one in seven badgers is infected with the disease, Brian May announces on his website he is 'losing most of a precious day in the studio' to travel to Swansea to take part in a cynical publicity stunt.

"It shows a completely subjective approach to animal welfare and smacks of a condescending attitude to Welsh government. A vet wouldn't dream of telling him how to play his guitar, so why should he feel he has the right to tell vets how to control a dangerous disease.

"He may be losing a 'precious' day in the studio but does he know how many farmers are losing precious days of work to witness their animals being herded into trailers to be taken to slaughterhouses because of TB?

"Nobody agrees to the needless destruction of wildlife but TB is costing the lives of thousands of cattle as well and of badgers already suffering excruciatingly painful deaths due to the disease."

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