The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) says the current and coming impacts of the weather on Wales’ farming industry should be a key focus for governments, and should not be forgotten amidst other important debates to do with Brexit and future rural policies.

Speaking at the FUW’s pre-Royal Welsh Show press conference, FUW President Glyn Roberts said that while concerns about issues such as post-Brexit trade deals or future agricultural policies were of critical importance, the need to look after animals now and ensure there is enough fodder to look after them through the winter must be a priority.

The Gwent Branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales recently organised a “Wooden Horse Race Night” to raise funds for the President’s charities Alzheimer’s Society Wales and Farming Community Network.

The event attracted over 200 people and raised in excess of £4,100 with donations still being received.  The horses were auctioned off for the 6 races, with the winners going forward to a Grand Final, which was very keenly contested.

Musical entertainment was then provided by Ricky Jenkins A.K.A Elvis, which kept everyone going well into the night.

The event was held at Ty Oakley Farm, Hafodyrynys, and CEO Glyn Davies said: “A huge debt of gratitude is due to Howard Vicary and his family, who were hosts for the evening.  They put an enormous amount of work into preparing for the night and it is pleasing that it all proved worthwhile.

“I would also like to thank everyone who helped on the evening, our sponsors, and all those who donated to the cause.  The amount raised is fantastic and will help our charities continue their important work.”

The Pembrokeshire branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales in conjunction with Pembrokeshire County Council and Dyfed Powys Police, held a successful information day to help farmers get up to speed on scam awareness.

The event was held at Mountain Farm, Haverfordwest, and heard from Sandra McSparron and Rebecca Elliott, Trading Standards Consumer Safeguarding Team, Pembrokeshire County Council, as well as Paul Callard, Dyfed Powys Police Financial Crime Team.

FUW Pembrokeshire CEO Rebecca Voyle said: “This was an excellent opportunity for farmers to find out about telephone, mail and online scams which affect rural communities. I would like to thank Sandra McSparron, Rebecca Elliott and Paul Callard very much for their valuable contributions.

American entrepreneur Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple, once said that “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. Recognising the importance of innovation in the agricultural industry, the Farmers’ Union of Wales is hosting a special seminar at the Royal Welsh Show.

The innovation seminar, which is held on Tuesday, July 23, at 2pm at the FUW Pavilion, will focus on how farmers can embrace innovation in many different ways, and stay ahead of their competitors as Brexit looms .

Those attending the seminar can look forward to hearing from  Geraint Hughes, of Madryn Foods, who leads on Business and Innovation in the Farming Connect’s Agri-Academy scheme, whose forum include Welsh farmers looking at technologies such as Genomics, Smart farming, Virtual reality, Social Media and Vertical farming.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is looking forward to an exciting seminar at the Royal Welsh Show, exploring what being authentic really means, how to overcome self-doubt and having the courage to develop a business that reflects who you are.

The seminar, which is being held on Wednesday, July 25 at 2pm at the FUW Pavilion, will be delivered by Helen Howells of Hwylus.

Helen is fascinated by people and places and loves to pick apart at the mechanics of things and understand how they truly work. With a keen interest into the working of the mind, and the working of the land, she’s spent most of her career developing holistic opportunities to improve rural communities.

By founding Hwylus, she brings to the forefront her background in Sustainability, Visitor Experience and Heritage to inspire rural business.  

Speaking ahead of the event, Helen said: “Being authentic in leadership and business is about developing your personal brand, one with real soul. Having the confidence to live your values and feel the intensity of the passion for what you do. So come along to explore how you can instil the values of authentic leadership into your business, feel confident bringing more of yourself to your work, and reap the benefits.”

The seminar is open to all and free to attend.

 

The Wales Land Management Forum (WLMF) established a sub-group in January 2017 in order to focus on tackling agricultural pollution. The membership of the group comprises NFU Cymru, Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW), the Tenant Farmers Association Cymru (TFA), Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), AHDB Dairy, the Carmarthenshire Fishermen’s Federation (CFF), Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government. 

In April 2018, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs was given a progress report on the work of the WLMF sub-group. 

All those involved have worked collaboratively to help shape the initial recommendations that have been sent to the Cabinet Secretary and are optimistic that they will provide a framework to improve water quality in Welsh rivers in the long-term. 

There is no one silver bullet to solve this problem – the solution is a combination of different changes all of which need to be supported by new ways of thinking. The main areas are:

• A robust regulatory regime
• Developing a voluntary, farmer-led approach to nutrient management
• Ensuring better advice and guidance is provided and can be taken up by farmers
• Improving the range of investment opportunities
• Identifying and promoting innovation 

The WLMF sub-group continues to work  at pace to deliver the recommendations in the report.

Download the report: Tackling Agricultural Pollution