The Meirionnydd branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales enjoyed a successful county show held at the Rhug Estate near Corwen on Wednesday, (August 22), with #FarmingMatters such as the current Welsh Government consultation on the future of agriculture top of the agenda.

FUW Meirionnydd County Executive Officer Huw Jones said: “The show itself was an outstanding success and we were pleased to be here as they celebrated the shows 150th birthday. This one day show really is going from strength to strength.

“Our marquee was a hive of activity throughout the day, and we enjoyed catching up with members, friends, guests and politicians. The main topic throughout the day was of course the current consultation ‘Brexit and our Land’.

“Members expressed serious concern about the implications of removing direct payments from Welsh farms,  which would undoubtedly lead to disruption and uncertainty and financial hardship on an unprecedented scale, which would effect the rural economy of Meirionnydd in its entirety.”

Strong opinions were expressed to Liz Saville Roberts MP and Llyr Huws Gruffydd AM and members were encouraged to sign a postcard to be sent to Lesley Griffiths, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, highlighting their worries about the proposed phasing out of direct payments.

“We had an incredibly busy day and are as always extremely grateful to all the volunteers and staff from the County branch for all their assistance and cooperation. Without all of their hard work and dedication, the day would not have been such an outstanding success,” added Huw Jones.

Technical notes to help the agricultural sector prepare for a ‘No-Deal’ Brexit scenario offer little comfort for the farming sector in Wales, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has said.

Whilst there were some welcome elements, such as a renewed assurance that eligible beneficiaries will continue to receive payments under the terms of the UK government’s funding guarantee, any clarification on funding post 2022 is still outstanding.

Worryingly exporting businesses are urged to find out themselves what the likely changes to customs and excise procedures will be and engage with other elements of the supply chain to ensure planning is taking place at all levels.

In addition, the Government has also called on businesses to ‘consider how they will submit customs and export declarations’, suggesting it may be necessary to engage customs brokers, freight forwarders and logistics providers, or acquire the appropriate software – all of which will ‘come at a cost’.

Other recommendations include re-negotiating commercial terms to reflect any changes in tariffs.

Responding to the news, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “What these technical notes highlight is the mammoth task at hand and how unprepared the Government still is - they keep talking about the unlikely event of a ‘no-deal’ scenario - which is certainly a possibility but still don’t actually offer any contingencies.

The Welsh Government’s announcement that the basic payment date will not be brought forward and emergency loans will not be made available until December suggests the Welsh Government is out of touch with the implications for farmers of the severe weather experienced over the past 12 months.

That was the view of the FUW after the Welsh Government released a written statement on Thursday (August 24),  confirming it would not follow the Scottish Government’s lead and make loans available from early October.

Instead, it plans to make no change to the usual December basic payment date, and only offer loans for the five to ten percent of farmers who will not receive payments by that date.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Ironically, Scottish Labour criticised the Scottish Government for being slow to confirm loans would be available in October for farmers unable to afford to buy fodder and feed following a disastrous harvest - and for not going far enough.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is once again looking to recognise an individual who has made a great contribution towards the development of the dairy industry and has become an integral part of the dairy industry in Wales.

To recognise such outstanding services the Union is seeking nominations for its FUW-HSBC Outstanding Service to the Welsh Dairy Industry award.

The winner will be announced, and the presentation made, at this year’s Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen on Tuesday, October 30.

FUW Carmarthenshire County Executive Officer David Waters said: “There are a number of very worthy individuals in Wales who deserve this award and looking back we have had some very worthy nominations and winners. So if you know of a person in Wales who has made a great contribution towards the development of the dairy industry and has become an integral part it in Wales, then why not nominate them for this prestigious award.”

Wales’ highest mountain called Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) fundraisers recently and a team of dedicated staff and members answered by tackling  six routes in 12 hours, in order to raise funds for the Union President's charities: Alzheimer’s Society Cymru and The Farming Community Network (FCN).

Tackling the 1085 metre giant,  some of them three times in a row, fundraisers managed to raised £1344.

“This was another fantastic challenge our staff and members have set themselves to raise money for our charities. And I thank the team, who either walked or were involved in a supporting role, for their continued support and excellent effort,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is urging all farmers and those with an interest in the survival of the Welsh rural economy to attend one of its information evenings and hear about the Welsh Government’s proposal to replace ‘single farm payments’ with a single agri-environment/‘public goods’ scheme.

The Welsh Government’s ‘Brexit and our land: Securing the future of Welsh farming’ consultation, which closes on the 30th October 2018, proposes phasing out  direct support for farmers by 2025, and replacing them with ‘payments for public goods’, accompanied by a ‘resilience scheme’ aimed at farm business improvement and development.

Glyn Roberts, FUW President, said: “While farmers across the country are busy planning how to cope with the imminent winter shortages, it is important they take a longer view of their businesses given what the Welsh Government is currently consulting on. In blunt terms, they propose replacing the Basic Payments which makes up around 80 percent of farm incomes with what is a souped up Glastir agri-environment scheme.”

“Given that Scotland and Northern Ireland intend to keep direct farm payments, as does every country in the EU, Welsh farmers should ask themselves how they would fare in a world without direct farm support, when their counterparts in Scotland or Ireland continue to receive payments.

Mr Roberts said that while the EU is looking at strengthening the ‘active farmer’ criteria to ensure money goes to family farms, the Welsh Government proposes making a future scheme open to anyone with land - something the FUW believes will lead to a massive flow of funding away from Wales’ rural economy to charities and big business.

“Farmers, agricultural contractors, mechanics, feed merchants and anyone else with an interest in Wales’ rural economy should make their views clear by responding to the consultation. Over the coming weeks the FUW will be hosting open meetings across Wales so people can discuss and respond directly to the proposals and I hope many of you will be there,” added Glyn Roberts.