The FUW and other key organisations representing Welsh food and drink producers and manufacturers have written an open letter to the Prime Minister highlighting key issues that must be addressed immediately to avoid detrimental impacts to the industry following the end of the EU Withdrawal period.

“The European Union is the largest market for Welsh food and drink businesses to export their goods to, and includes exports of red meat and dairy products worth an estimated £320 million to Wales,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

“What happens in the run up to 1st January 2021 is critical to the economic viability of many food, drink and farming businesses and the supply chains and jobs they support,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts. 

The nine organisations which signed the letter comprised the British Meat Processors Association, CLA Cymru, Farmers’ Union of Wales, Food and Drink Federation Cymru, Livestock Auctioneers Association, National Beef Association, NFU Cymru, National Sheep Association Cymru and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has reacted with dismay that support for Welsh Hydropower has been axed and is urging the Welsh Government to look for a long term solution to keep the production of hydropower on farms a viable option. 

The FUW has consistently recognised the threat represented by climate change and the need to take action and farmers in Wales have been instrumental in helping achieve a more than five-fold increase in renewable energy production in the past 15 years.

FUW Policy Officer Charlotte Priddy said: “We are dismayed to hear that the Welsh Government has changed their grant scheme to only supporting community owned hydropower projects with their rates bills, a scheme that has previously provided £1m of support to the sector over the last four years. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has highlighted an array of issues facing the farming community, which if left unaddressed could be the perfect storm for farmers' mental health. In a virtual meeting with Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language, Eluned Morgan, Union officials discussed how the combination of Brexit uncertainty, Covid-19 and proposed new farming policies are putting immense pressure on farmers and their mental health.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We had a very good meeting with Eluned Morgan and we raised many pertinent issues which play on our farmers’ mind. As we all know the problems on farms are plentiful and some can be addressed by talking about them, others however require the Welsh Government to re-evaluate their current and future agricultural policies.” 

Mr Roberts said that the imminent danger of substandard imports arising due to new trade deals, new subsidy schemes which fail to specifically address economic prosperity for rural communities, the lack of preparation for a no-deal scenario at Welsh ports and in other areas, the rapid impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global supply chains and also the increased use of public access which has caused a broad range of problems for our members, all add to the perfect storm that is brewing. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has given a cautious welcome to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs’ announcement of the outcome of a consultation on simplifying agricultural support in Wales.

The Sustainable Farming and our Land: Simplifying Agricultural Support consultation, which ended on the 23 October 2020, proposed eleven changes to the Basic Payment Scheme and a number of major changes to the principles underpinning the Rural Development Programme.

Responding to the announcement, FUW Deputy President Ian Rickman said: “We welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has accepted many of the concerns we raised, including in terms of impacts for cross border farmers and young farmers.” 

In line with the FUW’s views, the Welsh Government has now agreed to provide a derogation for cross-border farmers with less than 5 hectares of Welsh Land so they can rely on the land they had available in another administration in 2020.

With little over six weeks to go before the end of the EU withdrawal period and many areas of agreement reached between the EU and UK in trade negotiations - but the subjects of fisheries and state aid rules still major obstacles to progress as the negotiations reach their final stages - the FUW has urged both the UK and EU to avoid the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit at all costs.

The call comes a day after Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice acknowledged on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show that the sheep sector would face particular challenges in no-deal scenarios due to tariffs on lamb exports to the EU of around 40%, but tried to play the impact down for agricultural sectors.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said “The reality is that failure to reach a trade deal would have a catastrophic impact for our key agricultural sectors that would hit home very quickly, with the sheep industry likely to feel the impact most acutely. It would also cause untold disruption to food and other supply chains and complete anarchy at our ports.”

Mr Roberts said that such a failure would also have devastating impacts for EU businesses, and that it was therefore in both the EU and UK’s interest to ‘pull out all the stops’ to reach a deal.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales says the newly passed Agriculture Act could open the door to devastating impacts on farming and rural communities if the UK Government does not place food security and the wellbeing of farming families and rural communities at the centre of policy development.

The Act, which received Royal Assent yesterday (November 11), outlines how future support for English farmers will be delivered as the UK leaves the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, while also setting out legislation relating to a broad range of agricultural and rural issues of relevance to Wales and the UK - including granting temporary powers to Welsh Ministers until a Welsh Agriculture Bill is brought forward.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We have welcomed the inclusion in the Act of a requirement for a report to be presented to parliament focusing on the impacts future trade deals could have on agriculture. 

“However, this is certainly not the red line preventing substandard food imports that farmers, environmentalists, animal rights campaigners and millions of members of the general public lobbied for.”

Mr Roberts said that the focus of the Act on ‘public payments for public goods’ was a major concern for FUW cross-border members with land in England.