The Farmers’ Union of Wales today claimed victory in its fight to alleviate a problem some Glamorgan farmers faced in respect of a notice served on them by the Land Registry.

The notice related to an attempt by the trustees of the Ogmore Angling Association to register a "profit a prendre" which would have given them sole and exclusive fishing rights on the river Ogmore and its tributaries.

Over 140 separate notices were served on landowners covering the Ogmore River and its tributaries. However, the union has now learned the Land Registry has cancelled these applications due to the trustees' solicitor failing to respond to the objections raised.

The FUW was actively involved in objecting on behalf of a number of members in addition to writing directly to the Ogmore Angling Association trustees and the Land Registry and believes their involvement has helped ensure this matter does not proceed.

FUW county executive officer Glyn Davies said: “The processing of these applications by the Land Registry has cost a great deal of taxpayers' money and has also caused a huge amount of distress and anger to landowners involved in this attempt to register a profit a prendre on their land.

“Even more alarming is the fact that this is the second attempt by the trustees of the Ogmore Angling Association to register these rights, following the first application in 2008 which was again cancelled by the Land Registry.

"In light of these applications, the FUW would welcome a review by the Welsh and Westminster Governments to ensure that there is no further abuse of the profit a prendre system."

One FUW member who complained about receiving a notice, Beatrice Hayball-Jones, said she is “extremely glad" of the support given to her by the union and is adamant its involvement played a significant role in causing the failure of the attempt to register fishing rights on her land.

[caption id="attachment_2713" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Beatrice Hayball-Jones alongside the section of river that runs through her farm at Treoes in the Vale of Glamorgan[/caption]

Improving the efficiency of lamb production was the main topic of discussion during a Farmers’ Union of Wales-organised visit to independent sheep consultant Catherine Nakielny’s Carmarthenshire family farm.

Dr Nakielny, of KN Consulting, farms 800 ewes at her home at Talley, near Llandeilo. She previously worked for a commercial sheep breeding company and various industry consultants following her studies at Aberystwyth University where she completed an Animal Science BSc and PhD on Breeding Sheep for Resistance to Roundworms.

A Nuffield Scholar, she is chairman of the FUW's animal health and welfare committee, the union's Carmarthenshire county chairman, sits on the NSA Welsh committee and represents Wales on the NSA UK policy and technical committee.

She is also a Wales representative for the Moredun Research Institute, was a member of Farming Connect's Agri Academy 2012 Rural Leadership Programme and received the National Sheep Association Cymru/Wales Award 2012.

She is a technical sheep specialist covering a variety of sheep production issues, has been involved in the sheep industry for over 15 years and has been working as an independent sheep consultant for the last five years.

Over this period she has been involved in a number of research and demonstration projects ranging from sheep breeding and genetic improvement to parasite control and winter forage costs.

In 2011 she was awarded a Nuffield scholarship and has since visited a number of countries including Ireland, New Zealand and Australia studying lamb production systems and new opportunities for improving flock profitability.

She studied the role of efficiency in reducing methane emissions from lamb production due to concerns that the climate change debate would lead to calls for a reduction in livestock numbers.

However, following a meeting with leading scientists and policy makers, it is clear that the need to produce more food to feed a growing population means that the focus will in the future lie with increasing efficiency of production and “sustainable intensification”.

Dr Nakielny has a particular interest in improving the efficiency of lamb production. She said: “Whilst there is need to improve efficiency of production and much talk about sustainability, the future of lamb production lies in the ability of individual producers to create profitable businesses. Without this there is no sustainability.

“Policy makers and scientists have a role to play in supporting research and creating a framework in which producers can operate effectively but ultimately profitability results from taking control of an individual business and making the most of market opportunities and meeting the needs of consumers.

“Lamb is already a high value product on the shelves so we can’t expect to see rapid increases in what we receive for lamb so we need to think about the things we can control. There is no magic bullet and I believe that profitability will come from tackling a range of issues which currently reduce profitability.

“Risk management will also become increasingly important as well as being able to react to changing conditions based on a clear understanding of what drives the business.”

Dr Nakielny is therefore working with a number of producers to develop monitoring and benchmarking systems as well as working with Farming Connect to develop the Know Your Flock+ benchmarking groups.

Looking to promote innovation in the sector, Dr Nakielny has also developed The Ram Shop, a unique marketing tool for ram breeders as well as working on a number of tools to help with the monitoring and benchmarking of sheep flocks.

[caption id="attachment_2709" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Catherine Nakielny and her father Edward with a high index performance recorded ram being evaluated on-farm[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2710" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Catherine Nakielny and FUW president Emyr Jones (foreground) with national and county union officials during the recent farm visit[/caption]

Weeks after Farm Business Survey data revealed a devastating fall in farm incomes - with hill sheep and beef farms hit worst by a 60 per cent fall in net farm incomes for 2012/13 - natural resources and food minister Alun Davies opted for a maximum 15 per cent CAP modulation rate that could lead to a fall in direct payments to Welsh agriculture.

FUW president Emyr Jones refers to this decision in his New Year’s Message that follows….

On December 18, Scotland announced a modulation rate of 9.5 per cent, citing the “essential” Scottish Less Favoured Area Support Scheme as one of the key justifications for ensuring sufficient funds are made available for rural development.

On the same day, Welsh Natural Resources and Food Minister Alun Davies announced a modulation rate of 15 per cent with no such assurances regarding our own Less Favoured Area (LFA). Meanwhile, levels of modulation in England, France, Germany and Italy will be 12, 3, 4.5, and 0 per cent respectively.

The decision, which could represent a real terms fall in Direct Payments to Welsh agriculture of as much as 20 per cent by 2019, comes just weeks after Farm Business Survey data revealed a devastating fall in farm incomes, with hill sheep and beef farms hit worst by a 60 per cent fall in net farm incomes for 2012/13 - down to £11,377.

While the aspirations of the Minister in terms of using Pillar 2 funds to make farms more profitable are ones we would all agree with in principle, his decision reflects a particularly British and Anglo-Saxon trait, which is to ignore the fact that we are part of a common market in which moves which undermine the financial stability of our own farm businesses simply strengthen our competitors in other countries - countries which better understand the crucial role direct payments play in maintaining food production and rural communities, and without which we would have seen a far worse outcome to the recent negotiations on the CAP.

And, of course, we have yet to see any Welsh plans which will guarantee the replacement income lost through modulation, not to mention the abolition of LFA payments which the Scots regard as “essential” for rural communities.

But above all else, the decision to implement the full 15 per cent modulation rate goes against the Government’s stated aim that it wishes to minimise the inevitable disruption which will accompany the move to flat-rate payments - disruption which will occur whichever model is implemented.

With a Ministerial announcement on direct payments and the domestic co-funding of modulated monies due on January 14t, two key decisions remain available to the Minister in terms of reducing the adverse impacts that 15 per cent modulation and the transition to flat-rate payments will cause for Welsh farm businesses:

Firstly, by match-funding, £1 for £1, modulation monies, the Government would demonstrate that it is genuine about its commitment to using rural development monies to make good the potential losses faced by our food producers.

And secondly, by returning to its original position on the transition period to flat-rate payments by allowing a transition period of more than five years  - as is allowed by the Regulations - the Government can ensure that those businesses which face the greatest disruption under the new CAP will have more time to adjust.

Welsh farmers are more likely to spend their holidays in Wales than any other part of the UK or Europe, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has learnt from a recent survey.

Visitors to the FUW stand at the recent Royal Welsh Winter Fair said that they are also more likely to spend time away in caravans and farm-based accommodation in their homeland and many farming families would spend a few days camping at the Royal Welsh Show as part of their holidays.

“Almost 60 per cent of those that responded to the survey said they took regular holidays and 66 per cent of those stay in Wales for their annual vacation,” said FUW farm diversification committee chairman Eurwyn Roberts.

“It is very encouraging to see that so many farmers support the Welsh tourism industry by staying in farm-based accommodation and caravans.

“The Welsh countryside has a wide choice of scenery and outdoor activities and this is something that farmers here have, of course, appreciated and known for a long time,

“Over the years many farm businesses have diversified into tourist-based activities and it is great to know that farmers themselves support these enterprises,” added Mr Roberts.