THE Farmers’ Union of Wales has written to newly-appointed EC Agricultural Commissioner Phil Hogan asking for rules which will exclude large tracts of land with trees on from eligibility under the new Basic Payment Scheme.

The Basic Payment Scheme will replace the current Single Payment Scheme in 2015 and, under Delegated Regulation 640/2014, land with trees at densities of 100 or more per hectare will not be eligible for payments.

“One hundred trees equates to an average spacing between trees of 10 metres or 33 feet,” said FUW agricultural policy director Nick Fenwick.

“At that spacing land can not only be grazed by animals, it can also be cultivated - it is wide enough to drive three or four London buses side by side between trees.

“Under the current interpretation this means vast numbers of areas currently claimed as grazed woodland or eligible land containing ineligible features will be excluded from claims and have to be mapped as ineligible on the Land Parcel Identification System.

“The exclusion of such land from eligible areas makes no sense whatsoever,” added Dr Fenwick.

The letter to Mr Hogan highlights the “severe and presumably unintended impact” the rule will have “…by rendering large areas of agriculturally viable land as ineligible for the Basic Payment Scheme”.

It adds: “The impact…will be felt most acutely on those farms which are severely disadvantaged and/or have retained features such as ancient woodlands within field parcels…payments will be significantly reduced, as eligible areas - often already well below what they should be due to the use of projected rather than actual field areas - will be artificially reduced.”

The letter also emphasises the huge additional burden the Regulation will place on administrations such as the Welsh Government, which already have their work cut out in dealing with the new CAP Regulations.

It states: “The requirement…represents a major additional bureaucratic burden for farmers and administrations alike, which goes wholesale against the Commission’s stated commitment to a simplified Common Agricultural Policy at a time when all Member States are facing extreme financial pressures.

“Given the above, and the importance of agroforestry to rural economies, biodiversity, landscapes and carbon capture, we would urge you to do all you can to reverse a decision which will have a range of adverse and unintended consequences, particularly for our most disadvantaged farms,” the letter adds.

Dr Fenwick said he had also alerted other organisations across the EU to the implications of the rule and was aware that similar concerns were widespread.

“We have had numerous discussions with Welsh Government officials regarding this issue and will be discussing it with Deputy Minister Rebecca Evans in the coming weeks,” he said.

“In the meantime, it is essential that farmers abide by all rules relating to the felling of trees, as the consequences of breaching these could be even worse than the impact of the new Regulation.”

The Farmers' Union of Wales president's chosen charities - T? Hafan and T? Gobaith children's hospices - will be the big winners thanks to the union's annual children's competition to design a Christmas card with a farming theme that once again attracted hundreds of entries.

A selection of cards will form a colourful centrepiece to the FUW's stand at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on December 1 and 2 where the public will be able to purchase the winners' cards in packs of 10 for £5 with the proceeds going to the hospices.

FUW president Emyr Jones said: "The competition was a great success again, attracting hundreds of entries from across Wales.

"I would like to thank every child who entered and tell them that without their participation the contest would not have been such a success. I would also like to express my gratitude to the staff at the schools up and down the country that assisted the FUW in the running of the competition.

"It gave children in urban and rural areas of Wales an opportunity to connect with the farming industry and express their thoughts in a creative and colourful way. I believe it is vital that we as farmers maintain a strong link with young people so that they understand the way that food is produced in this country."

The competition was split into two categories - English and Welsh designs. The Welsh category was won by nine-year-old Lucy Beddowes from Ysgol Llanarth, Ceredigion, whose design shows Santa Claus driving a blue tractor through the snow accompanied by a red robin with the wheels of the tractor decorated like a Christmas bauble.

The winner of the English category was ten-year-old Drew Morris from Ysgol yr Eglwys yng Nghymru, Llangors, Breconshire, whose design shows a farmer dressed as Santa Claus riding a "Merry Ferguson" tractor in the snow followed by ducks wearing Christmas hats.

Both win a £30 gift voucher for themselves, a packet of the cards depicting their design and a £50 cheque for their school.

[caption id="attachment_3593" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The winner of the English category was ten-year-old Drew Morris from Ysgol yr Eglwys yng Nghymru, Llangors, Breconshire[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3594" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The Welsh category was won by nine-year-old Lucy Beddowes from Ysgol Llanarth, Ceredigion[/caption]

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has described a first meeting with natural resources minister Carl Sargeant today as extremely positive.

The minister was accompanied by deputy food and farming minister Rebecca Evans.

After the meeting, FUW deputy president Glyn Roberts said: "We discussed a broad range of issues of concern to the industry including Wales' strategy for agriculture, bovine TB, and the implementation of the Working Smarter principles in all relevant areas of work undertaken by the Welsh Government.

"There was a broad consensus of agreement on a range of issues and a welcome recognition by all parties that there are some areas where differences of opinion will exist but that this should not be an obstacle to working together in order to secure a sustainable future for agriculture."

Mr Roberts said that a number of concerns regarding the recently-announced Nature Fund were also discussed. "There is some concern that the Nature Fund projects announced to date have not been as farmer-focussed as they could have been,” he said.

"While a number of concerns remain, we welcome the minister's acknowledgement of the key role farmers and land managers should play in delivering environmental and economic benefits through the Nature Fund and any similar schemes."

Mr Roberts said the FUW looked forward to a long and positive working relationship with both the minister and deputy minister.

[caption id="attachment_3500" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] FUW deputy president, Glyn Roberts[/caption]

The Farmers' Union of Wales is urging farmers to ensure they make the most of the funding available for training under the current Rural Development Plan before it closes to new applications on Friday of next week (November 28).

"Whilst the training itself can be undertaken up to March 2015, farmers must ensure they have applied before the November deadline to take advantage of the 80 per cent funding rate," said chairman of the union's agricultural education and training committee Alun Edwards.

Farmers are also being reminded that "Grandfather Rights" for pesticide spraying will come to an end on 26 November 2015.

"So those born before 31 December 1964 and have not already registered to undertake their Certificate of Competence shouldn’t wait until spraying time to take advantage of the funding available under this Rural Development Plan because we do not yet know how training is likely to be funded under the next programme," said Mr Edwards.