[caption id="attachment_5522" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (l-r) Vodaphone representative Graham Dunn, O2 representative Paul James, EE representative Alex Jackman, Three representative Justin Kempley, Ofcom regulatory affairs manager Elinor Williams and FUW deputy president Brian Thomas.[/caption]

The lack of network coverage in rural Wales was high on the agenda today on the second day of the Royal Welsh Show (Tuesday, July 21) when the Farmers’ Union of Wales joined forces with Ofcom at its pavilion alongside the main ring. 

The FUW and Ofcom held wide-ranging talks with farmers and representatives from the communications industry including the mobile network operators – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone to discuss plans for improvement in the rural areas of Wales. 

FUW deputy president Brian Thomas, who was delighted that the union was once again hosting this event at the Royal Welsh Show, said: “This is the fifth consecutive year at the show that the FUW has collaborated with Ofcom in providing a platform for discussion on the wide ranging communications issues facing rural Wales. 

“A lot of work has been done over the past four years to improve services for mobile phone coverage and broadband access but with ever increasing demands on the farming community to carry out their business duties online more needs to be done to accelerate the process by which these twenty-first century services are readily and reliably available. 

“The farming industry, in increasing numbers, is reliant on smart phone technology such as apps and it is second nature for the up-and-coming younger generation to use their phones in innovative ways – so if rural businesses in Wales want to remain at the forefront of progress then more needs to be done to support them. 

“Further to this, online IACS, BCSM online and the incoming EID are just a few examples that farmers throughout Wales require reliable and fast internet connections for, which could be accessed through the appropriate mobile phone coverage if no broadband line is available. 

“So as a union we cannot stress the fact enough that more needs to be done to help rural communities and farm businesses by providing them with the essentials that every twenty-first century business needs.” 

Visitors to the pavilion were interested to hear that the latest statistics by Ofcom show that the availability of 2G and 3G services in homes across Wales has reached 98.9 percent and 97 percent respectively by June this year, whilst the availability of 4G is available in only 62.8 percent of properties, compared to 89.5 percent in the UK and 92.1 percent in England. 

But all the figures fall dramatically when measured in geographic availability as opposed to properties. When figures were published October last year they showed that 14 percent of Welsh remote areas didn’t have 2G coverage, 21 percent didn’t have 3G and 37.2 percent didn’t have 4G. 

Whilst over the border in England only 4 percent of remote areas didn’t have 2G coverage, 7 percent are without 3G coverage and 10.5 percent are without 4G coverage.  

Ofcom regulatory affairs manager Elinor Williams said: “We are becoming increasingly dependent on our mobile devices, however, there are still areas where a lack of network coverage means that making mobile phone calls, sending text messages and accessing data services over a cellular network is not possible.  

“Rural Wales has its fair share of ‘not-spots’ and weak spots, areas where there are is no signal at all by either of the phone companies, which present challenges to mobile network operators.  

“The UK government recognises these not spots and weak spots and has committed to solve the problem and has set 115 million pounds aside to support the establishment of the infrastructure that is necessary to improve services, whilst the 4 providers (Vodaphone, O2, EE and Three) will be covering the building cost. 

“The agricultural sector is being affected more than any other by a lack of mobile phone signal and we take this matter very serious,” she added.  

Farmers were pleased to hear that Ofcom takes the matter very serious and the union has long stressed that people are now dependent on their mobile phone as they go about their daily business.  

“The agricultural industry is just as reliant on mobile phones as any other industry and if you add tourism to the mix with people on holiday wanting to access their e-mails, share their photos on social media and stay connected to their loved ones it becomes even more vital. 

“We were keen to hear that a legal agreement has been reached between the providers to ensure £5 billion are available to spend to improve the mobile phone infrastructure by 2017 and to ensure voice and text service are available by the providers to 90 percent of remote areas in the UK by 2017,” added Mr Thomas.

[caption id="attachment_5519" align="aligncenter" width="300"] FUW senior policy officer Dr Hazel Wright with Farmers Guardian news and business editor Ben Briggs[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has today (Monday July 20) renewed its support for the ‘Take the Lead’ campaign, which was originally launched in spring 2014 to raise the profile of livestock worrying by dogs among the general public by the Farmers Guardian.

“Increased numbers of sheep worrying incidents remain a major concern for the industry and we are pleased to pledge our continued support to the campaign,” said FUW senior policy officer Dr Hazel Wright.

“The public needs to be aware of how dangerous their pets can be to livestock if they are being chased or, even worse, attacked by dogs on the loose. Alongside animal injury and mortality, livestock worrying can also cause grazing parcels to be lost, if sheep are too stressed to return to the land,” she added.

According to figures revealed by the Farmers Guardian there were more than 1,000 attacks by dogs in 2013, up from 691 in 2011, and a survey of 580 NSA members revealed 58 per cent see sheep worrying as a “persistent problem”, with 63 per cent of attacks resulting in “invisible” injuries such as stress and abortion.

“We will do our utmost to highlight the need for responsible dog ownership amongst the farming and non-farming community. Farmers are continuously being inspected to ensure that they look after their animals in an appropriate manner, whilst some owners of dogs let their pets run freely and totally out of control.

“The union is appealing to all dog owners to ensure that they keep their dogs on their leads whenever they see livestock in the same field as their dogs, even though that may be on the side of a mountain where the animals maybe a long way away,” added Dr Wright.

The FUW is calling on people to keep their dogs on a lead when they walk in the countryside and is encouraging farmers to use the “take the lead” campaign sign and display it on their farms.

“Sheep, lambs, cattle and horses have been attacked, ewes are aborting due to the stress caused by being chased and some animals are even dying of exhaustion. This can all be prevented through responsible dog ownership and taking the countryside code of conduct into account,” said Dr Wright.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is putting its money where its mouth is by sourcing the food served in the pavilion during the Royal Welsh Show (July 20 – 23) from within Wales. 

“Last year we welcomed the commitment made by prime minister David Cameron and environment secretary Liz Truss to boost public food procurement by central government and in line with the on-going FUW campaign to keep food miles down, have ensured that the food produce served in our pavilion is sourced from within Wales,” said FUW president Glyn Roberts. 

The plan for public procurement, which was announced during the Royal Welsh Show 2014, is worth £400 million for British farming and will see central government committing to buy fresh, locally sourced, seasonal food from 2017. 

Speaking ahead of the show FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “Local procurement brings benefits for farmers across the UK and we will continue to encourage all public bodies and of course supermarkets, to follow suit. 

“The FUW has been lobbying for precisely this type of commitment ever since I have been involved with the union and it’s about time that more is done in this area to help secure the future of the industry. 

“It is in all our interests to ensure that all public bodies use locally sourced and seasonal food to maintain a prosperous and thriving economy and that those selling food produce source it from within the UK and as close to home as possible.”

The Insurance arm of the Farmers’ Union of Wales is asking visitors to the pavilion during this year’s Royal Welsh Show (July 20 – 23) not to forget their loved ones when it comes to their insurance needs.

Newly appointed Life Insurance Consultant and former Independent Financial Adviser, Mark Williams, will be at the FUW’s pavilion throughout the week to provide advice and guidance and issue quotations on the FUW’s full range of life insurance products including term insurance, income protection, critical illness cover and sickness and accident cover.

“The direct selling of life insurance is a new venture for FUW Insurance Services. Whilst our clients and members are understandably anxious to insure their businesses and possessions, they sometimes neglect to protect their most important assets – their families. Our entry in to this market will create a ‘one stop shop’ for all our clients and members insurance needs,” said FUW Insurance Services managing director Mark Roberts.

FUW Insurance Services look forward to welcoming their friends - old and new - to the pavilion alongside the main ring and are also offering visitors the chance to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet when asking for a life insurance quote.