Farmers on Anglesey who are short of winter fodder have been given a helping hand by the Farmers’ Union of Wales and Horizon.

“We are pleased to announce that Horizon are donating a limited number of bales of silage from the Wylfa Newydd site to farmers who live and farm on Anglesey. To be eligible they will need to meet specified criteria, agreed between Horizon, FUW, RABI, FCN and they have to prove that their farm is below 250 acres,” said FUW Anglesey CEO Alaw Jones.

Those wishing to apply can bring their SAF summary into the county office in order to verify that their farm size and the bales are only for the applicant’s own use and not for resale.

“After a disastrous harvest earlier in the year, caused by the severe drought, the window of good weather in recent weeks has come as a lifeline for hundreds of farmers and their animals, allowing desperately needed additional crops of silage to be taken ahead of the autumn and winter but farmers are not out of the woods yet. So this is a great example of a successful company supporting farmers in their local community and I hope that those who are struggling will take up the offer,” added Alaw Jones.

Ahead of World Mental Health day (October 10), farmers and those living in rural communities across Wales are being reminded that ‘it’s ok to say’ and the Farmers’ Union of Wales is urging them not to hide problems from themselves, their families and friends and to talk about their personal feelings.

The FUW made a commitment at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in 2017 to continue raising awareness of mental health problems in rural communities and is therefore renewing the call for those who might be suffering from mental health problems to seek help.

“This year's theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is young people and mental health in a changing world. Our young people are faced with an uncertain future and their world is changing rapidly, which will no doubt cause anxiety and stress to many.

“Their farming businesses are under threat, our export markets post March 2019 are unclear and any support for the industry has still not been finalised. Add to that the growing problem of bovine TB and you have a recipe for the perfect storm,” said Union President Glyn Roberts.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is mourning the loss of its life member Gwilym Jones, who sadly passed away aged 89.

Mr Jones of Ty Cerrig , Llanrhaeadr YM, Oswestry, Salop, was a Vice President of the FUW between 1982 and 1986 and again during 1990 and 1993 and was elected a Life Member of the FUW during 1995 in acknowledgement of his service to the FUW .

Gwilym Jones was born into farming stock and has always worked on the land. In 1957 he bought his first farm, Ty Cerrig, at Llanrhaeadr YM near Oswestry and started out milking just three cows by hand.

He joined the FUW in 1958 but it was not until the late '60s that he became Chairman of the Tanant Valley Branch, serving on the Denbigh County Executive Committee. He was also elected onto the Milk Committee, of which he was Chairman for two years from 1979 until being made Vice President, a position he held for 11 years.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has kicked-off its first ever North Wales FUW Academy event with a bang, hosting two successful and informative farm visits for its members.

The FUW Academy is an initiative to deliver engaging, informative and practical events across Wales and a program of such events is being developed for all members.

The events were jointly arranged by the Union’s Caernarfonshire, Meirionnydd,and Anglesey branches, and saw a fantastic turnout of younger members from North West Wales.

As part of the day members visited Harri Parri, Fferm Crugeran, Sarn on the Lleyn Peninsula, and Arwyn Owen, at Hafod y Llan Nant Gwynant,  where detailed presentations were given about each of the farms.

Leading the visits was FUW Younger Voice for Farming Committee chairman Geraint Davies, who said: “The two farms were very different from each other. Crugeran being an intensive lowland beef and sheep business, whilst Hafod y Llan is an upland unit farmed extensively up to the summit of Snowdon.  

New figures demonstrating the positive impact of badger culling on bovine TB levels in the High Risk Area of England have prompted the Farmers’ Union of Wales to call for a previous Welsh Government plan to cull badgers to tackle disease to be reinstated.  

This follows the recent publication of data by Defra which demonstrates that the completion of the 4 year badger culls in both Somerset and Gloucestershire have reduced the number of new TB outbreaks by around half.

The English badger cull programme forms part of the strategy for achieving Officially Bovine TB Free Status for England by 2038.  The positive results have prompted Defra to roll-out the cull in the remaining High Risk Areas of England.

Ian Lloyd, FUW Animal Health and Welfare Committee Chairman, said: “These findings are unsurprising and support the FUW’s interpretation of the results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trials. Previous modelling by the FUW showed that herd incidences could be reduced by 30 percent in a 5 year cull and by a further 33 percent in the following 3 years post-culling.”

Bala farmer Geraint Davies, who resigned as Welsh Chair of Nature Friendly Farming Network last week, has cited differences of opinion on recognising potential impacts of policies on families and food production as key reasons he felt he could no longer lead the organisation in Wales.

Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), which was launched in January this year at the Real Oxford Farming Conference, comprises farmers from across the UK, and is funded and supported by a range of organisations, including the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, National Trust, Friends of the Earth and the Organic Soil Association.

Speaking about his decision, Mr Davies said: “This decision was not taken lightly, but following numerous discussions with the charities and stakeholders who support and fund NFFN it became clear to me that my strong views about protecting Welsh farming families, food production, rural communities and our natural environment were not necessarily shared by some of these organisations.