Hospices providing care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families throughout Wales have been chosen as the Farmers' Union of Wales' latest charitable cause, it was revealed at the Royal Welsh Show today (Monday July 22).

Cardiff-based T? Hafan and Oswestry-based  Hope House Children’s Hospices which includes T? Gobaith at Conwy will share the proceeds of the fund that will be formally launched by FUW president Emyr Jones on Wednesday July 24 at the union’s pavilion alongside the main ring at Llanelwedd.

T? Hafan, established in 1999, has helped over 500 families who live with the reality that their children live with life-limiting conditions suffering from various conditions including  Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis and Celebral Palsy.

The hospice offers comfort, care and support for such children and young people and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the whole family. This comfort and support extends out of the hospice to reach right into the heart of the family home and is completely free to the families in Wales who need it.

“We are delighted to be one of the FUW’s Charities of the Year and are really looking forward to working in partnership with them to raise funds and awareness for the vital service we provide to hundreds of life-limited children, young people and their families from across Wales,” said T? Hafan  head of business and community fundraising Frank Ady.

Carys Verdin, whose six year old son Rhydian suffers from a non-malignant but extensive brain tumour, said: “We are thrilled to be helping with the official announcement and are really pleased that T? Hafan has been chosen as the FUW’s charity of the year. Rhydian and the whole family receive fantastic support from T? Hafan and we’re really honoured to be representing the charity at the event.”

Rhydian was diagnosed at six months with a non-malignant but extensive brain tumour, for which he had surgery. Sadly the tumour has since grown back which has severely affected his development.

He is not able to bear his weight, except with a standing frame, has limited movement on his right side and is registered blind although has partial sight in his left eye.

Hope House and  T? Gobaith also provide care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families from north and mid Wales, Shropshire and Cheshire. A range of services is offered - including respite and end-of-life care at the hospices and/or within the family home - plus counselling, advocacy and the promotion of children, young people’s and carers’ rights.

The support offered includes physical, psychological and spiritual care from a team including experienced doctors, nurses and other care professionals.

Jeanette Steadman, whose six-year-old son Kyle is a regular visitor at T? Gobaith, said: “T? Gobaith and Hope House have been our lifesaver.  If it wasn’t for the support of the hospice we wouldn’t know where to turn.  They are always there for us, be it on the end of the telephone or in person.”

T? Gobaith fundraising manager Sarah Kearsley-Wooller said: “We are delighted that Hope House Children's Hospices has been chosen by the FUW as one of their chosen charities for 2013/2014, especially as we are celebrating our 10th birthday in 2014.

“Each year we need to raise more than £1 million to provide care and support to terminally ill, life limited children, young people and their families and the significant support of the FUW will make such a difference.”

FUW president Emyr Jones said he hoped that by the end of next year the total amount raised by FUW members and supporters will be at least as much as the £50,000 handed over earlier this year to the union’s last beneficiary Cancer Research Wales.

A petition calling for an increase in the age above which sheep carcasses have to be “split” is being launched on Monday July 22 at the Farmers’ Union of Wales Pavilion alongside the main ring at the Royal Welsh Show, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.

Under current EU requirements the vertebral column of sheep aged over 12 months, or having one or more permanent incisor teeth erupted, must be removed - also known as splitting - which represents a significant and unacceptable cost for the Welsh sheep industry.

FUW livestock committee chairman Dafydd Roberts said: “The removal of vertebral columns adds significantly to the cost of processing carcasses, meaning that animals over 12 months old or with one or more erupted first permanent incisor are worth considerably less than other animals.

“The fact that first permanent incisors can erupt well before an animal is 12 months of age also means that a large number of animals are devalued unnecessarily.

“The precautionary approach which underpins the requirement is now completely outdated and it is clear that the risks of moving to a more proportionate approach are vanishingly small.”

Mr Roberts said the FUW had long maintained that removing the requirement to split carcasses altogether would represent a negligible risk.

However, following a resolution from the union’s Gwent branch, the FUW is campaigning for a modest increase in the age at which carcasses must be split so that only carcasses from animals with an erupted second pair of permanent incisors should have to be split.

“Second permanent incisors erupt at between 18 and 26 months, so such a change would be very minor, but would nevertheless represent a significant reduction in costs for the industry.”

Mr Roberts said the petition called on the Food Standards Agency to seek to raise the EU age limit for vertebral column removal to an age whereby the trigger for removal is the eruption of the second pair of permanent incisors.

He also criticised the FSA for not allowing more cost effective methods of complying with the current rules to be used in the UK, despite such methods being used on the continent.

“While it is the EU which is responsible for the current rules, and we believe that they should changes those rules, the FSA are preventing the use of more cost effective methods of compliance which are used on the continent.

“This is totally unacceptable, and it is high time the FSA moved to allow the UK to use the more cost-effective approaches used on the continent,” Mr Roberts added.

Broadband availability for rural businesses in Wales is crucial economically and socially, a forum on the Superfast Cymru Wales project at the Farmers' Union of Wales pavilion during next week's Royal Welsh Show will be told.

The forum (on Wednesday July 23 at 11am) will hear details of the £425 million Superfast Cymru Wales project - a partnership between the Welsh Government and BT with private and EU funding.

One of the speakers, FUW director of agricultural policy Nick Fenwick, said: "Increasing broadband availability to rural businesses in Wales is of critical importance, economically and socially.

"With Rural Payments Online planning to roll out a host of services over coming months and years, including the option to complete Single Application Forms on-line in 2014, any moves which increase broadband availability and quality are welcome.

"While using this type of service will be a steep learning curve for many, we know from our experience with BCMS/CTS Online that people rarely go back to paper once they've realised the advantages which come with such services - for example, in terms of the extent to which errors can be reduced."

BT revealed that under the Superfast Cymru programme, Wales is set to become a global leader in fibre broadband. Using public and private funds, it will deliver fibre broadband to parts of the country not already covered by the existing commercial plans of operators.

Fibre broadband will be of particular benefit to the tens of thousands of local businesses scattered throughout rural Wales because it will provide speeds approximately 15 times faster than those already available. It will enable them to diversify their business, sell to new markets and carry out a much broader range of work online.

Another speaker at the seminar, BT programme director Ed Hunt, said: “We are serious about making fibre broadband available to even the most rural parts of Wales.

"Our engineers are hard at work in places like Abersoch, Criccieth and Dinas Mawddwy and we look forward to telling local people when they’ll be able to access high-speed broadband services as a result of this project.

"Already underway, Superfast Cymru is part of the Welsh Government’s commitment to seek to ensure that all premises across Wales will have access to next generation broadband.

"It will build on BT’s existing investment with the aim being that 96 per cent of Welsh homes and businesses will be able to benefit from world class broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps by 2016. The initiative will take the total amount invested in Welsh fibre broadband to around £425m.

"Superfast Cymru is already helping to transform the broadband landscape in Wales and boost the Welsh economy. Businesses and residents in several areas are already connected, and the roll-out will be underway in all unitary authorities during 2014/15."

Welsh farmers were urged today to beware of spontaneous combustion of their newly-gathered hay following the recent spell of good weather which has allowed them to produce large crops.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales pointed out that after a number of seasons of indifferent harvesting weather and challenging winter conditions farmers can ill afford to face further losses or expenses due to inadequate insurance cover and now is the appropriate time to review covers and sums insured on hay, straw and agricultural produce.

Spontaneous combustion can occur in hay if it is baled at too high a moisture level and is more likely to occur in tightly-baled hay and can cost farmers dearly, especially if insurance cover on hay and straw has expired.

“Over the last few years of poor harvest weather, with little hay produced, insurance cover on this has been reduced or removed,” said FUW director of business development Emyr James.

“In the present economic climate, and after an expensive winter, farmers can’t afford another loss through spontaneous combustion.

“Hay presents its own specific risks even when harvested in ideal weather conditions. Production methods have also changed in recent years with many farmers now relying on contractors rather than having their own hay making equipment that may sometimes result in hay being baled a little fresh.

“We would advise farmers to discuss their hay, straw and agricultural produce sums insured with their insurance advisers to ensure cover is adequate for their needs,” added Mr James.

Well-made hay also presents risks of fire from sparks from tractor exhausts and nearby machinery as well as electrical equipment and other weather conditions such as lightning strike.  Hay stacks in areas closer to urban communities further present an exposure to theft and arson.

“It is important for farmers to understand that their hay, straw and agricultural produce sum insured must reflect the true full replacement value of all agricultural produce on the premises.

“Minimal sums insured will result in any claim being averaged and reduced in proportion to the under insurance resulting in dissatisfied clients and further expense,” added Mr James.