Jane Hutt AM,
FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas &
FUW Policy Officer Charlotte Priddy
#FarmingMatters were hotly debated at the Farmers’ Union of Wales stand at the Vale of Glamorgan Show (Wednesday, 9 August), when Union officials met with a range of local politicians and members.
FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas said: “We enjoyed a successful day here at the Vale of Glamorgan show. It really was a hotspot for #FarmingMatters and we enjoyed catching up with members and highlighting the important role farming plays in our everyday lives.
“During our meetings with local politicians such as Jane Hutt AM, David Melding AM and Andrew RT Davies AM, we also discussed the way forward for agriculture in light of Brexit and reinforced the urgent need for an agricultural summit in order to progress the vital constitutional issues that need to be addressed before EU powers are repatriated from Brussels to London.”
FUW Glamorgan CEO Rachel Saunders &
FUW Deputy President Brian Thomas.
On the day the FUW was also joined by South Wales Police Crime Reduction Tactical Advisor Deborah Elward, who highlighted ideas for farmers to prevent crime on their farm and FUW member David Harris, who has been leading a local action group ‘The Vale Market Community Enterprise Group’ (VMCE) to keep the Cowbridge livestock market open and reinvent the site to improve the market facilities and build a local hub.
FUW Glamorgan CEO Rachel Saunders said: “It was great to have Deborah with us and together we highlighted some of the other options available to farmers to prevent rural crime, other than CCTV.
Deborah Elward highlighted ideas
for farmers to prevent crime on their farm
“We used the opportunity to also tell farmers about the new official Rural Watch Scheme to which they can now sign up to. The scheme will replace the informal texting group that local farmers have been using to warn each other about farm thefts and I hope that many more of our members will sign up.”
The Union has also long been in support of Cowbridge Livestock mart, recognising that the closure of the mart would remove a vital lifeline from the town and also make it necessary for farmers to travel far greater distances to sell their stock.
Rachel Saunders added: “The proposed scheme will produce many benefits to the market site as a whole, including the addition of much needed car parking facilities within the town centre, which will also provide the historical benefit of exposing the Cowbridge town wall which was built in the 13th century. We will certainly continue to support the project and hope that the difficulties the project is facing can be resolved soon.”