A farming family from South Wales have stressed the need for continued collaboration with the Welsh Government after some major opportunities were missed in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

Hosting a farm visit for Conservative Member of the Senedd Joel James, the Jones family stressed that the Sustainable Farming Scheme, currently still in development, must deliver on the shortcomings of the Bill if sustainable, thriving, family farms are going to be a reality in Wales for generations to come.

Lynne Jones and his family run Fforch farm. They keep 300 Glamorgan Welsh mountain sheep along with 65 breeding cows. The family started off with highland cattle to cope with the hardiness of the mountain, crossed with Short horns and salers. They have now moved on to cross them with Charolais and Aberdeen Angus bulls.

Farmers’ Union of Wales officials have met with the Rt. Hon the Lord Deben (John Gummer), Chairman of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and Dr Nikki Rust, Head of Nature, Land & Agriculture at the CCC to discuss the role played by agriculture in future net-zero policies.

The FUW raised numerous suggestions and concerns related to achieving net zero- many of which were shared by Lord Deben and Dr Rust on behalf of the CCC. 

Issues discussed included the dangers of off-shoring emissions due to trade deals and imported food, the need for a well-thought through and financed transition for farmers, meat and dairy consumption proposals, tree-planting, carbon calculators and the need for low-carbon farming practices to make business sense for farmers. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has expressed its disappointment at some of the missed opportunities in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill, as it progressed through it’s penultimate scrutiny stage on Tuesday 16 May.

Representatives of the FUW were in the gallery to watch Senedd Members debate amendments tabled on economic viability, support for new entrants and energy efficiency.

The landmark legislation will provide the framework for future agriculture support in Wales and is the first time Wales will have legislated in this way. The FUW has maintained since the introduction of the bill that the absence of economic viability of agricultural businesses and family farms from the Sustainable Land Management objectives is a significant concern.

“The Agriculture (Wales) Bill must support the next generation of farmers” - that was the key message from the Farmers’ Union of Wales Younger Voice for Farming committee chair, Gemma Haines, at a meeting with local Members of the Senedd.

Welcoming Sarah Murphy, MS for Bridgend, and Huw Irranca-Davies, MS for Ogmore, to her farm, Gemma stressed that it was disappointing that there is still no explicit mention of support for young/new entrants in the Agriculture (Wales) Bill.

“Whilst there is an opposition amendment tabled at Stage 3 which would correct this, and the FUW has lobbied for this to happen since the introduction of the Bill, support for tenants, new entrants and common land graziers are also missing from the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposals. We urgently need to correct this so that these new policies support the next generation of farmers,” said Gemma Haines.

Mrs Haines added that it was encouraging to see that as part of the ongoing co-design, working groups have been set up on each of these areas.

“We hope the outcomes of the groups will be reflected in the final consultation expected later this year,” she said.

Union officials further stressed that the Universal Actions and SFS contract length must be achievable (or flexible enough) and proportionate for all farming systems and regions (including tenants and commoners), with a high enough associated baseline payment to ensure a critical mass of farmers are able to access the scheme.