The Farmers’ Union of Wales has described comments by leading politicians on post Brexit agriculture made during the 2018 Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) as welcome, but says Welsh farmers remain in the dark over many important issues.

Speaking during the opening politics session at the event were Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove; US Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney; and Vice Chairman of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee Paolo De Castro.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We very much welcome Mr Gove’s apparent commitment to agricultural funding until 2024, and the general thrust of his speech, which described a prosperous and forward looking post-Brexit industry which is rewarded for delivering the very best in terms of food, the environment and social contributions to society.

As we start 2018, despite all the uncertainty around Brexit, I feel there is cause for optimism - certainly more than there was twelve months ago.

Key messages put forward by the FUW in 2016 and 2017, which originally appeared to have been shunned or contradicted by the UK Government, are now being adopted; words like ‘transition’ have replaced the ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ type rhetoric, and most have now joined the FUW in recognising that a post-Brexit UK framework for agriculture, agreed in partnership between Governments, should protect, not undermine devolution and our devolved Nations. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, our call for a more proportionate and targeted approach to Nitrate Vulnerable Zones has been accepted.

Gwaun Valley beef and sheep farmer, Robert Vaughan, has put mutton on top of famous TV chef Jamie Oliver's menu, which features in the current Channel 4 TV series ‘Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast’.

Pembrokeshire hill farmer Robert, who is a member of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, was keen to highlight how versatile and delicious mutton can be and was delighted to show Jamie and Jimmy round the farm.

“Out of the blue one evening I had a phone call from the Jamie Oliver production team to have a chat about my farm and mutton for the new series, with the outlook of possibly coming to see the farm for themselves. I didn’t want to get my hopes up of course. We have done a few TV shows before but it’s a bit like a job interview, you never know 100% if you’re going to be successful. They kept bouncing questions across for few weeks and then all of a sudden we had a confirmed date.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many of us - a time to relax, put our feet up, spend time with family and friends, indulge in all of the fabulous food on offer and many homes will be filled with the delightful smells of festive cooking.

Offices and shops across the country are closed and a peaceful serenity engulfs us; fireplaces are crackling, some will argue who gets to put the star on the Christmas tree this year and most will be hoping to wake up to a classic wintery scene.

But if you have a farm to run, how different does that time look? Teleri Fielden, the latest National Trust Llyndy Isaf scholar and former Farmers’ Union of Wales Marketing and Membership manager, is looking forward to her first Christmas at the 614 acre upland farm in Nant Gwynant, nestled in the heart of Snowdonia.

There really is no better place for bonding people together and sharing ideas than over good food - and because the Farmers’ Union of Wales wants to continue to make sure that the voice of Welsh farming is heard at every level, farms across Wales will open their kitchens at the end of January for breakfast week (January 22 - 28).

“Politicians, key stakeholders and the general public need to really understand the important role the food and drink sector plays in their everyday lives, so to do just that we will be enjoying some great local produce to kick-start our day as part of our breakfast week campaign.

“But we want you to be a part of what we do, and share your thoughts and worries about the state of the industry, tell us your stories and help us to understand how we can help each other,” said FUW President Glyn Roberts.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales’ campaign #FarmingMatters, which set out to demonstrate the key role that farming plays in the wider rural economy and showcase the wider social and cultural importance of farming in Wales with the wider aim of convincing the Welsh Government that it is essential to protect Welsh farming from the potential negative impact of Brexit, has been recognised at the UK Public Affairs Awards as the best campaign in Wales.

For the past 18 months the FUW has been busy highlighting why farming matters and when the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, immediately realised the need to raise awareness of the concerns for farming in Wales, mainly due to Welsh farmers’ strong trading relationship with the EU.