The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed a Welsh Government decision to accept its calls for a ‘simplified’ stage 1 appeals process for alleged over-declarations on this year’s Single Application Form.

Following the release of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) part payments from December 1, and the issuing of accompanying payment statements, many farmers had noticed large deductions had been made to their eligible areas, in some cases triggering penalties.

“In many cases these seem to make no sense, and the fact that maps showing how government staff have mapped areas are not available, makes appealing very difficult,” said FUW Gwent county executive officer Glyn Davies.

“We have therefore been in constant talks with Rural Payments Wales (RPW) to simplify the appeals process, and welcome the proposals – although we remain frustrated that we are in this situation,” he added.

Under the simplified appeals system those who wish to appeal against deductions can submit CRNs and the relevant field numbers via RPW Online, along with contact details, at which point Welsh Government officials will check their maps. If queries are not acknowledged by RPW within seven days farmers should contact the Welsh Government’s Customer Contact Centre.

“If Welsh Government only partially accepts or rejects the appeal, farmers will be given confirmation of the area deducted and a screen shot of Welsh Government mapping to show where deductions have been made. There will then be a second opportunity to query the figures before moving to a stage 2 appeal,” added Glyn Davies.

“Farmers are suffering financially this year due to poor farmgate prices, so it is extremely frustrating to be confronted with reductions or penalties without any clear information about why these may have been applied.

“The complexity of the new CAP rules and the requirement to provide sketch maps has been a nightmare for farmers and all those assisting them this year.

“FUW staff worked tirelessly in the run up to May 15, dealing with the new regulations, so I have every sympathy with Welsh Government staff who are now under the same pressures.

“However, it is extremely frustrating to see cases where farmers’ figures have been changed by miniscule amounts and these add up to large areas, despite mapping measurements being by definition extremely subjective.”

[caption id="attachment_6009" align="aligncenter" width="200"] FUW president Glyn Roberts[/caption]

For six of the past twelve months I have had the honour of serving as the FUW’s President – an experience which has taken me all over the country and much further afield and allowed me to make many new friends and acquaintances.

 While the majority of those I have met have been farmers, many others are involved directly or indirectly with the industry. Yet there has been one clear and uniform message from all in terms of their worries regarding the impact of the collapse in farm incomes on agriculture and the businesses which rely on the industry.

As I write, a main focus for the industry is the need for Basic Payments to be made as soon as possible, and while we have warned since June that such delays were imminent due to the additional burden of the new CAP rules, the FUW continues to put pressure on the Welsh Government to process payments as quickly as possible – payments which are as just as essential to the survival of thousands of businesses which rely on agriculture as they are to farming families.

While it is easy to focus on the problems currently facing us, it is important not to lose sight of the wider challenges facing us over the coming year and beyond, as well as the opportunities.

A major ongoing challenge is likely to be the Euro-Sterling exchange rate which is the main factor in terms of the fall in livestock values and has a direct impact on CAP payments, while for the dairy sector there seems to be little hope that matters will improve significantly next year without major changes in global demand and trading patters – not least with regard to China and Russia.

As farmers we must be realistic about such factors and the degree to which they are outside our control – but it is also imperative that where positive actions are possible, whether by our own governments or key players such as retailers, these are taken.

Sadly, 2015 has not filled the industry with confidence that this need is recognised; cynical buying and marketing policies by some retailers merely added to existing downward pressures on prices, while many feel that a Welsh Government obsession with passing legislation means good governance has been eclipsed by bad regulation.

The FUW’s 2016 Welsh Assembly Election Manifesto launched at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair details those actions which we believe should be a priority, while also highlighting the dangers to the wider economy of heaping ever more costly bureaucracy and restrictions on an industry which is already under immense financial pressures.

While much of the focus over the coming months will be on the Welsh elections, as the year moves on attention will increasingly centre on the EU membership referendum, and the FUW has made no bones about its support for EU membership and its belief that the Welsh Government must make up for lost time in terms of quantifying the possible economic impacts of Brexit and preparing contingency plans.

Such issues seem a world away to those which faced our founder members sixty years ago when they decided to form the FUW – yet our commitment to fighting at all levels for the family farms which underpin Wales’ agricultural industry has not faltered, and I am heartened by the enthusiasm and positive attitude of an upcoming generation of young members who will guide us over the next six decades.

We are indebted to all FUW staff and officials for their dedication and hard work over the past year, not least during the extremely difficult SAF period, and I wish them and all our colleagues across Wales and further afield a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

New proposals for a change to the current GB red meat levy system put before MPs by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) have been welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

Under the current system, levies collected from farmers and processors in countries in which animals are slaughtered are paid to those countries’ meat promotion bodies - HCC in Wales; Quality Meat Scotland in Scotland; and the English Beef and Lamb Executive and British Pig Executive in England.

“There can be no doubt that the inequity in the current red meat levy distribution system has held us back to the detriment of Welsh farmers, particularly over recent years, and we have been calling for a fairer system to be introduced for more than a decade,” said FUW president Glyn Roberts.

It is estimated that the closure of the Vion plant at Gaerwen in 2013 led to a drop of around £500,000 in HCC’s red meat levy funding, while the closure of a pork processing facility in Scotland in 2012 had a similarly detrimental impact on Quality Meat Scotland as more animals were transported to England.

Calculations suggest that more than £1 million in additional funding could potentially be transferred to HCC if the proposed system is adopted.

“Currently HCC’s levy funding does not come close to reflecting the number of animals born and raised in Wales, a problem which has got much worse since the closure of the Gaerwen slaughterhouse in North Wales, which has led to many more Welsh animals being slaughtered in England,” added the FUW president.

There is currently no legal mechanism by which AHDB can redistribute the levy collected for an animal born and raised in Wales, but slaughtered in England – but under the new proposals, the levy obtained would be divided between different countries depending on where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

The information for this distribution of monies would come from animal movement databases and other such sources.

The FUW hopes that the proposals will be fully considered in order to ensure a more flexible and fairer distribution of collected levies. If ministers agreed to implement the new mechanism, it would involve some redistribution of the producer element of the levy, with no extra work or cost for producers or abattoirs.

No change has been proposed to the processor element of the levy system.

Before any changes could be made a legislative process and government consultations with the industry across the country would need to be completed.

“We understand that that it is unlikely that any changes will come into force before April 2017, but it is a step in the right direction. The current levy distribution system is not fit for purpose and Welsh farmers are suffering as a result.

“The advent of EID and other technology means an equitable system should now be easier than ever to implement,” he added.

The FUW further understands that the levy boards have also agreed to look at new ways of working in partnership on activities such as supporting export market access work in countries where there is potential to sell pig meat, sheep meat and beef from across Britain.

[caption id="attachment_5974" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sharing memories and comparing notes are (l-r) Roy Edwards, founder member of the union in 1955 Mr T Llew Jones MBE, FUW president Glyn Roberts and Nerys Edwards[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales celebrated its 60th anniversary on Tuesday December 8 with a trip down memory lane.

Sharing memories and comparing notes on the state of the industry were Roy and Nerys Edwards and their four sons, of Groesasgwrn, Llangynderyn, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire and Mr T Llew Jones MBE, a founder member of the union in 1955.

The couple joined the FUW in May 2015 – making them the newest and one of the ‘youngest’ FUW members in the founder county.

Roy was the winner of Fferm Factor for the year 2014 and Nerys’ time is split between being actively involved in the running of the home farm, helping her husband and keeping a successful occasion cake business ‘Cacennau Moethus’.

The informal visit gave the couple and FUW president Glyn Roberts, who also attended the visit, the chance to explore the different views of those who were actively involved in the set-up of the FUW 60 years ago and those who have just joined the organisation.

“Farming has changed dramatically over the last 60 years and it was interesting to hear about the challenges the farming community faced in 1955 and how these compare to the struggles but also opportunities the current generation of farmers deal with,” said FUW president Glyn Roberts.

Many stories were shared over cups of tea and wonderful home-made cake and Glyn Roberts particularly enjoyed looking through old photographs with Llew Jones.

[caption id="attachment_5976" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Mr T Llew Jones MBE, a founder member of the union in 1955 and FUW president Glyn Roberts[/caption]

He said,” It was inspiring to hear the stories of how the FUW was founded back in 1955 – and how determined our Welsh ancestors were to fight for Welsh farming and the small family farm.”
The evening celebration at the Halliwell Centre in Carmarthen was well attended by FUW staff old and new and many members.

Guest speaker the Rt Hon. the Lord Morris of Aberavon KG QC, who was actively involved with the formation of the FUW as the union's legal adviser and deputy general secretary between 1956 and 1958, talked about how the FUW was formed and reminded guests that the union was born out of the frustration felt by Welsh farmers, when their needs and voices were not being heard by the Westminster Parliament.

It was down to their dream of having a Welsh farming union he said and the tenacity of these Welsh entrepreneurs that the FUW has been given the official right by the Government to represent and speak on behalf of Welsh farmers and the union has done so at the highest level – at the National Assembly, Whitehall and Brussels ever since.

Speaking at the dinner, union president Glyn Roberts added that, “We are here today because of the vision of the founder members who have worked so hard.

“It is an overwhelming honour to stand in front of you as president of this union, but that honour also has great responsibilities and a duty, not only to those that have fought so hard in the past, but also to those that will take over from us in future.”

The president further added that Shakespeare once said that Owain Glyndwr was not like most men, he had a vision. We can proudly say the same about the pioneers of the FUW. Their vision was to have an independent voice for Welsh agriculture; an union that spoke for them, and which had the interest of Welsh farmers at its core.

“I have no doubt in my mind that all of us will do everything we can to honour those founding members and ensure that their vision of a strong voice for the industry remains at the core of the FUW’s principles.”

[caption id="attachment_5975" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] FUW deputy president Brian Thomas, former FUW presidents Gareth Vaughan and Emyr Jones, The Rt Hon. the Lord Morris of Aberavon KG QC and FUW president Glyn Roberts[/caption]

Carmarthen county executive officer David Waters, who was heavily involved in organising the evening function, said “I would like to thank all the staff for helping to organise such an enjoyable and successful dinner.

“We also held a raffle to raise money for the British Heart Foundation Cymru and I am very pleased to say that we have raised £1,600 for the cause.”