The Farmers’ Union of Wales has reacted angrily to a Welsh Government announcement that there will not be an entry-level agri-environment scheme application round in 2016, describing the decision as a betrayal of the commitments which underpinned the introduction of the Glastir scheme.

Speaking at Thursday’s (February 11) Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 Start of Term Event in Swansea, Deputy Minister for Food and Farming Rebecca Evans told those present there would not be a Glastir Entry application round this year and that funding would be re-directed away from broad-based whole farm schemes.

Speaking after the event, FUW Head of Policy, Nick Fenwick, said “Our 2016 Election Manifesto launched in November last year called for all farmers to continue to have access to Glastir Entry, so this decision comes as a severe blow for the industry.

“The FUW bitterly opposed the Welsh Government’s decision to remove £25 million from Wales’ disadvantaged areas by abandoning our Tir Mynydd LFA scheme.

“That money was effectively diverted to the Glastir agri-environment scheme, along with a promise that all farmers throughout Wales would be able to access the scheme.

“It appears that that principle has now been reneged upon.”

Dr Fenwick said that around 1,600 farmers would be left high and dry from 2017 as their Glastir Entry contracts were due to end in December 2016, with a further 3,000 or so likely to be affected in subsequent years if the policy remained in place.

He said that while other elements of the Rural Development Programme announced by the Deputy Minister, such as a small grants scheme, were welcome, none came close to meeting the original commitment to an all-Wales entry level agri-environment scheme which would be accessible to all.

“The decision to abandon payments for disadvantaged areas placed Welsh farmers at a major disadvantage compared with our main competitors in other parts of the UK and EU.

“Now it seems the quid pro quo offered at the time - an agri-environment scheme which would be open to all – has also been abandoned at a time when farm incomes are on the floor.”

The decision to scrap disadvantaged area payments, in the form of Tir Mynydd, effectively replaced a simple and cheap to administer compensatory scheme with the hugely complex and costly Glastir agri-environment scheme, said Dr Fenwick.

“This decision was made at a time when the public funding available to administer such schemes was known to be falling. This was warned of by the FUW at the time, and the experience since has confirmed our fears to be true.

“Given the state of Welsh farm incomes, we desperately need to see investment and a return to the sort of compensatory scheme which benefits our competitors across the EU,” he added.

The Brecon and Radnor branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales held a Sheep Tales event on Friday January 29, at the FUW Pavilion as part of the FUW county celebrations for the Union’s 60^th anniversary.

The county branch further used the opportunity to raise money for the British Heart Foundation Cymru and with a raffle collected £97 for the charity.

The funny and thought-provoking entertainment in words and song about shepherds and shepherding drawn from newly-collected oral history interviews with sheep farming folk (and the occasional sheep!) were performed by storyteller and songbird Sally Tonge and BBC Radio 4 producer Chris Eldon Lee of the veteran comedy trio Three Men in a Bowtie.

Members and friends of the Union enjoyed a hearty beef stew and a choice of apple crumble or chocolate fudge cake prepared by County Admin Assistant Kath Shaw and her mum Fran and served by all the County staff.

FUW Brecon and Radnor county executive officer, Aled Jones, said: “We have enjoyed a very successful and enjoyable evening and it is of course down the to the support of our members and those who have supported us in sponsorship that we were able to raise a nice amount of money for our chosen charity.

“Heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer, claiming around 73,000 lives a year – that’s an average of 200 lives every day.

“I’m glad that the money we have raised with this event will support research projects into heart disease around the UK. Nearly all of us have been affected by this disease in some way or another.

“Millions of adults and children which could be one of our friends or a family member might need help from BHF and we look forward to further fundraising events in the future.”

The FUW has reiterated its concerns for the agricultural industry regarding the delay in issuing Basic Payment Scheme and agri-environmental payments to farmers in a letter to Deputy Minister for Food and Farming Rebecca Evans - warning that many in the industry are now facing extreme financial difficulty.

FUW President Glyn Roberts, said: “Over the past 12 months we have consistently lobbied the Welsh Government to do all it can to accelerate the processing of payments and warned that the delays this year would have widespread repercussions for farmers and the wider rural economy.”

The most recent figures released by the Welsh Government show that around 80 percent of farmers have received part payments, leaving around 3400 businesses still to be paid.

“Those businesses have been extremely patient but as we approach the middle of February many are now facing crippling financial pressures, with mouths that need to be fed, bills that need to be paid, and loans which need to be serviced.”

Mr Roberts said that there are also implications in terms of meeting the terms of agri-environment schemes and undertaking essential work due to cash flow problems.

In his letter to the Deputy Minister, Mr Roberts highlights the fact that in some cases farmers have had to approach their banks for a second time in order to extend overdrafts to be able to continue with essential farm work, while others have been refused such extensions due to the uncertainty in terms of when they are likely to receive their payments.

“As such, we would once again urge you to do all you can to accelerate the processing of BPS and Glastir payments in order to alleviate these pressures which are affecting not only farmers, but many other businesses which are reliant on the industry,” the letter concludes.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has repeated its long standing call for a science led policy to control TB in wildlife after the Welsh Government suggested the abandoned badger vaccination pilot in north Pembrokeshire could restart in 2017.

Ministerial advice provided to the Welsh Government in 2012 suggested vaccination in the north Pembrokeshire Intensive Action Area (IAA) could cost Welsh farmers and the taxpayer an additional £3.5 million compared with a badger cull.

“The results after four years of badger vaccination in the IAA appear to support the original assessment that vaccination would cost farmers and the taxpayers millions and save the lives of far fewer cattle than badger culling would have done,” said FUW Deputy President and north Pembrokeshire farmer Brian Thomas.

“Based upon trials in other areas, we could have expected a thirty or forty percent reduction in cattle herd TB incidences by now, had the original plan to cull badgers gone ahead. Instead, matters in the area are no different to other comparable areas where badger vaccination has not taken place.”

Mr Thomas was speaking after attending a Welsh Government briefing session where the results of Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) modelling of badger vaccination strategies were presented.

“A key focus of the modelling work carried out and the subsequent statement made by Welsh Government indicates a possible return to badger vaccination in 2017. In our view that would mean returning to a pointless and costly exercise which has yet to show any positive impacts, whereas badger culling as originally planned would already have resulted in significant reductions in TB incidences.”

Mr Thomas said there was also no guarantee that the BCG vaccine used on badgers would be available by 2017.

“There is currently a global shortage of BCG vaccine, and given that one badger dose can vaccinate twenty infants in regions where human TB is a huge problem, such as Africa, it would be immoral to deplete global vaccine stocks by vaccinating badgers.”

The average cost of vaccinating each badger caught in the north Pembrokeshire Intensive Action Area has been around £700.

“In the 12 months to the end of September 2015 the number of cattle culled in Wales due to TB was 7,380, an increase of 25 percent on the equivalent period to September 2014.

“That’s an equivalent to 20 cattle culled every day of the week.”

Mr Thomas said farmers were doing their part in terms of controlling the disease, and accepted that cattle which represent a risk need to be destroyed.

“Welsh Ministers need to recognise that other animals which represent a risk should also be controlled, and that to avoid the issue by spending millions on vaccinating badgers will simply make matters worse in the long run.”