Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Montgomeryshire have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with their local MP Craig Williams.

Speaking after the meeting FUW Montgomeryshire county chairman Bryn Francis said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Craig Williams MP that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny. 

“Under no circumstances should they be rushed, but that is what is happening here, on top of which the UK Parliament will not be able to scrutinise and have a final say on a deal in the way other democratic nations do.”

Mr Francis said the FUW had therefore asked him to do all he can to oppose such a trade agreement and ensure detailed scrutiny takes place.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales says the emergency UK-EU talks being held to try and overcome problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol highlight the dangers of the UK entering a trade deal with Australia without careful scrutiny.

UK Brexit minister David Frost and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic are meeting in London today (9th June) to discuss the problems facing exports to Northern Ireland as a result of the rules agreed by the UK and EU in the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The protocol has led to shortages of certain products in the province and caused an increase in sectarian tensions, leading the UK government to threaten to further ignore the rules. In response, the EU is threatening court action and the imposition of tariffs if the UK does not meet the obligations set out in the international treaty.

FUW Policy Communications Officer Gareth Parry said: “There are growing tensions politically between the EU and UK, and there are growing tensions on the street, all because of an international agreement the UK negotiated and signed while desperate to meet a self-imposed tight deadline for leaving the EU.

“The problems are exactly what we and others warned of, and now, within months of the protocol coming into force, the UK government has realised how bad the implications are and is having emergency meetings with the EU to try and solve the problem."

Knowing your farmer, being able to ask questions about their produce and how they look after the land is of paramount importance to Ceredigion dairy farming family the Thomas’s. The third generation to farm at Pantfeillionen, Horeb, Llandysul, Ceredigion, are Lyn and Lowri Thomas. Lyn has been farming since he was 16 and celebrates just over 32 years in the industry this year. The family looks after 170 acres and rents a further 100 acres, with the land down to grass. 70 dairy cows, a few sucklers and calves which get sold on as store cattle, call these green hills home. 

Farming, the couple say, has changed a lot in the last few decades and the industry has moved with the times. The way forward for the family is to maintain the small-scale ethos of the family farm and connect on a personal level with their customers who buy raw milk directly from the farm. 

Describing their farming system, Lyn says: “We do all our own silage and everything is done in house. We don’t use a lot of fertilizer, some yes, but we can’t use too much because of the nature of the ground. We’re farming on rock so that means we need to be careful otherwise our grass would burn on the south facing slopes. 

Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Brecon and Radnorshire have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with their local MP Fay Jones.

Speaking after the meeting FUW Brecon and Radnor county chairman Dwylan Davies said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Fay Jones MP that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny. 

Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with Aberconwy MP Robin Millar.

Speaking after the meeting, which was hosted by FUW President Glyn Roberts at his home farm Dylasau Uchaf, near Betws y Coed, FUW Caernarfonshire County Executive Committee Member Dafydd Gwyndaf said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Robin Millar MP that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny.

“Under no circumstances should they be rushed, but that is what is happening here, on top of which the UK Parliament will not be able to scrutinise and have a final say on a deal in the way other democratic nations do.”

Mr Gwyndaf said the FUW had therefore asked him to do all he can to oppose such a trade agreement and ensure detailed scrutiny takes place.

The Anglesey branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales is looking forward to its virtual annual general meeting, which will explore and discuss the most important issues facing the industry. Held on Thursday, 10 June at 7.30pm via Zoom, members can look forward to lively discussions around the water resources regulations, proposed trade deals and wider FUW matters.

Guest speakers on the night are FUW Ltd. Managing Director Guto Bebb and Keith Owen, Environment Consultant and Director at Kebek-Rural Environmental Services who will be discussing the implications of the new water pollution regulations and how they differ from the previous SSAFO regulations. 

Mr Owen will further discuss the dates that need to be adhered to and what facilities will fall into the new regulations. The presentation will also look at economic ways of meeting the regulations and what the implications are of an NRW/Cross Compliance inspection.