A warm welcome and mouth-watering smells greeted those joined the Farmers’ Union of Wales Glamorgan branch for breakfast on Friday, January 26 in Cowbridge.

The breakfast, which was organised as part of the FUW’s Farmhouse breakfast week campaign, raised £250 for the Union’s charitable causes - Alzheimer’s Society Cymru and the Farming Community Network.

The FUW campaign also aimed to raise the profile of Welsh produce and got politicians, key stakeholders and the public to learn about the important role the food and drink sector plays in their everyday lives.

Rachel Saunders, the FUW’s Glamorgan CEO who organised the event, said: “We had a great turn out and lots of support from our members and local politicians Alun Cairns MP and Jane Hutt AM and enjoyed talking to them about #FarmingMatters and Brexit.

“A huge thank you must also go to our admin assistant Christine Anstee and member Rose Jones for being our chefs on the day and also our member Phil Thomas for donating the eggs from Cyw Hapus.

“And as well as raising a great amount of money for charity, we used the opportunity to show decision makers and key stakeholders who joined us at the breakfast table how vital a part farmers play in maintaining our rural communities, in sustaining a viable and profitable agricultural sector and of course producing excellent food.”

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, so in order to promote the health benefits but also the variety of top quality Welsh breakfast produce available, the Pembrokeshire branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales hosted a farmhouse breakfast on Friday, January 26, at Crundale Hall, Crundale, Haverfordwest.

FUW Pembrokeshire County Executive Officer Rebecca Voyle, who organised the breakfast, said: “I would like to thank all those who joined us for breakfast here in Pembrokeshire and all the staff and members who helped cook up a storm. It was great success and we raised a fantastic £801.22 for Alzheimer's Society Cymru and the Farming Community Network in the process.

Meirionnydd FUW kicked off their branch activities in 2018 with a visit to the younger generations of farmers in the Trawsfynydd area, accompanied by local Member of Parliament Liz Saville-Roberts. Also present during the visit was FUW Meirionnydd County Chairman, Geraint Davies, who also chairs the FUW’s Younger Voice for Farming Committee nationally, and Gwynedd County Councillor Elfed Roberts, who represents the Trawsfynydd ward.

In order to protect Welsh poultry from Avian Influenza, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has announced that the whole of Wales will become an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone from Thursday, January 25.

The announcement follows 3 separate confirmed cases in Dorset, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire this month.  To date, no cases have been confirmed in Wales in 2018.

Dr Hazel Wright, FUW Senior Policy Officer, said: “Whilst no cases have been confirmed in Wales this year, we are urging poultry keepers to follow the Prevention Zone requirements as outlined by the Welsh Government and to practise good biosecurity.”

The Prevention Zone requires all keepers of poultry and other captive birds, to undertake specific biosecurity measures.  These include ensuring that the areas where birds are kept are unattractive to wild birds; feeding and watering birds in enclosed areas; minimising the movement of people in and out of bird enclosures; cleansing and disinfecting footwear and reducing contamination.

Keepers with more than 500 birds will also be required to take extra biosecurity measures, including restricting access to non-essential people, changing clothing and footwear before entering bird enclosures and cleaning and disinfecting vehicles.

“Alongside additional biosecurity measures, poultry keepers are being advised to provide details of their flocks to the poultry register.  This will ensure that they can be contacted immediately in the event of an avian influenza outbreak and can protect their flocks accordingly,” added Dr Wright.

FUW members requiring more information should contact their county office for further details.  

Dr Wright added that according to the Food Standards Agency, Avian influenza does not pose a food safety risk to UK consumers. Thoroughly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, remain safe to eat.

Does it get any better than starting your day with a fresh farm egg? Not according to Montgomeryshire Farmers’ Union of Wales members Mark and Helen Williams, who kick-started the FUW’s Farmhouse breakfast week in the county.

The couple farm 40 suckler cows and 900 ewes at Pen Y Derw, near Welshpool, and diversified into egg production last year as a way to Brexit-proof their business.

This was their second time round of hosting a breakfast as part of the FUW’s campaign and serving up the eggs in the morning, Helen Williams said: “No matter how you like your eggs - sunny side up, poached, or boiled - they are a very good source of high quality protein and they are rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper.

“Eggs are also regarded as a 'complete' source of protein’ as they contain all nine essential amino acids (the ones we cannot produce in our bodies and must obtain from our diet). So why wouldn’t you start your day the eggy-way?”

Farmers from Pembrokeshire have raised money to help city kids build a new vegetable garden at Farms for City Children, at Lower Treginnis, St David’s.  

The money (£502.67) was raised through a variety of activities including a raffle and donations at the Farmers’ Union of Wales stand at the 2017 Pembrokeshire County Show and a pre-Christmas bingo.

FUW Pembrokeshire CEO Rebecca Voyle said: “ I am really pleased that the money we have raised will be put towards the re-developments which they have planned for their vegetable garden in 2018 including new polytunnels and seed beds. For the children who come here for a week with their schools it is an intense, ‘learning through doing’ experience of a different life. Many children may not know where their food comes from and have limited opportunities to explore the outside world, so a new vegetable garden to help them understand how their food is produced is definitely worth supporting.”

Children’s author Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare founded Farms for City Children (FFCC) at Nethercott House in Devon in 1976 to offer urban children from all over the country a unique opportunity to live and work together for a week at a time on a real farm in the heart of the countryside.