The Farmers' Union of Wales is launching a report this week highlighting the importance of agriculture and grazing livestock to the economy and ecology of the Cambrian Mountains and emphasising the central role Wales’ upland farmers should continue to play in delivering a host of ecosystem services.

“The Role of Grazing Animals and Agriculture in the Cambrian Mountains” report - to be formally released on Thursday (May 30) - has been written by former Joint Nature Conservancy Committee member and Countryside Council for Wales board member Dr Ieuan Joyce.

It highlights the fact that large tracts of the Cambrian Mountains are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), EU Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) due to their unique ecologies, and that agriculture and grazing livestock have played a central role in creating and maintaining the landscape for thousands of years.

FUW hill farming committee chairman Derek Morgan, who farms on the eastern slopes of the Cambrian Mountains, said:

“Our ancestors were farming these hills thousands of years ago and it's possible to see the ruins of their farmsteads and sheep pens throughout these hills and mountains.

“Farming and grazing animals have become an inherent part of our landscape and upland ecosystems and this report highlights not only the dependency of upland species on agriculture, but also the key role that agriculture should play in terms of addressing the challenges of the coming centuries.”

According to the report, management by farmers has, over the millennia, not only enabled the production of high quality food, but has also led to the development of internationally important semi-natural ecosystems.

The Cambrian Mountains also deliver a range of services from the natural environment which benefit industries such as insurance and water companies, and the report recommends such industries should have greater involvement in financially supporting practices which deliver benefits they currently receive free of charge.

The report cites evidence indicative of cultivation and grazing in the pollen record as well as the large numbers of cairns, individual megaliths, stone rows and circles as pointing to the exploitation of upland pastures during the Bronze Age 5,500-3,500 years ago.

“In the medieval period, Owain Glyndwr’s ancestor, Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog, gave parts of the Cambrian Mountains to the monks of strata Marcella and it seems likely his close family connections with those farming the mountains led him and his troops to take refuge there during the early 1400s, resulting in his famous Cambrian mountain victory at the battle of Hyddgen,” said Mr Morgan.

However, he warned that more than 600 years on Welsh farmers in the area are facing a new threat - from those who wish to "wild" the Cambrian Mountains.

“This is not just an attack on the Welsh communities who have farmed the mountains for thousands of years, it is also a major threat for our upland ecosystems which are adapted to and reliant on farming,” he said.

Mr Morgan added that farmers and conservationists alike must recognise that inappropriate grazing - whether in the form of over or undergrazing - can cause damage to our ecosystems.

“The vast majority of farmers and conservationists are on the same page on this, particularly as undergrazing becomes recognised as a problem for species such as golden plover.

“We need to build on that understanding and recognition. Wilding would throw all we have learned out of the window.”

Mr Morgan said a wilding experiment on the Cambrian Mountains would be akin to the herding of American Indians onto reserves, in order to satisfy a romantic whim, and would result in the destruction of existing ecosystems.

“We have farmed these mountains for millennia and we will not give in to the latest attack on our way of life.”

The launch of a vaccine to tackle Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in sheep and cattle was welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales animal health and welfare committee chairman Catherine Nakielny today.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has now issued MSD Animal Health with a licence to provide the new “Bovilis SBV” vaccine and UK farmers will be the first in the EU with access to this vaccine which will help protect sheep and cattle against birth defects caused by SBV.

“This is fantastic news for the farming community. The vaccine means that farmers can vaccinate sheep and cattle before most of them become pregnant, which is important as it is during early pregnancy when exposure to the virus can cause damage to the foetus,” said Dr Nakielny.

“Despite the vaccine, I would reiterate the warning we put out in January that all farmers in Wales need to be on the lookout for any unusually high incidences of abortion or congenital abnormalities - deformed lambs, swollen heads, weak lambs etc.

“There have been 1,753 confirmed cases of SBV throughout the UK and this virus has been detected in every county in England and Wales, so we are pleased that farmers will now have the choice to opt for vaccination against this disease and we would like to urge farmers to discuss vaccination with their vet at the earliest opportunity,” added Dr Nakielny.

There is no known risk to human health from SBV but the advice for pregnant women remains to be cautious around farm animals and to follow strict hygiene procedures, the union stressed.

[caption id="attachment_2402" align="aligncenter" width="256"] Farmers’ Union of Wales animal health and welfare committee chairman Catherine Nakielny[/caption]

The Farmers' Union of Wales today warned farmers to double check their Single Application Form (SAF) acknowledgment letters to make sure they do not lose out due to computer scanning errors or if any of the information is incorrect.

"Although the busy time of completing SAF forms came to an end on May 15, it is imperative that farmers look carefully at the acknowledgement letter they receive from their Welsh Government Divisional Office," said FUW’s Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones.

"Farmers who have submitted their forms early will have already received their acknowledgement as receipts are usually sent within 10 days of submission.

"But those who have submitted their forms in the days running up to May 15 will not have received acknowledgements by now so it's vitally important that they make sure they get a receipt and when it is to hand that it is checked for accuracy.

"The receipt gives a summary of the claim, detailing the schemes claimed and a list of the fields, stocking numbers etc. The acknowledgement letter is also an opportunity to detect any scanning errors.

"Any missing data should be notified to the Divisional Office before June 10 to allow an amendment, although this could attract a late claim penalty.

"In past years a number of SAF scanning errors were discovered by FUW county executive offices across Wales and had they gone unnoticed members could have lost a significant amount of money. Thankfully, our staff and members spotted them by cross-checking against photocopies of original SAF forms.

"Every year the FUW deals with members who have been debited large amounts due to minor errors on extremely complicated forms and some end up losing sums that are equivalent to their entire annual incomes.

"Very few of those people get their money back due to the strict enforcement of EU rules relating to obvious errors and exceptional circumstances, and checking these statements and reporting errors is the one and only chance people get to prevent this happening."

Welsh farmers are concerned about the findings of a new report which claims wildlife in Wales is in crisis despite a legacy of many years of agri-environmental management schemes. the Farmers' Union of Wales stressed today.

The State of Nature report, launched in Cardiff last night by TV and wildlife presenter Iolo Williams alongside Welsh conservation charities, concludes wildlife in Wales is at a crisis point.

Scientists from 25 wildlife organisations have compiled a stock take of our native species - the first of its kind in Wales and the UK.

Their report reveals that across the UK, 60% of the species studied have declined over recent decades and it is suspected this trend is mirrored in Wales.

"Obviously, we are concerned about some of the issues raised by the report, particularly as so many farmers in Wales have embraced agri-environmental schemes and management," said FUW land use and parliamentary committee chairman Gavin Williams.

"Despite the difficulties associated with the current Glastir Scheme, many farmers have historically embraced agri-environmental schemes and it is therefore extremely concerning that the report suggests that some species are in decline.

"The union believes that it is extremely important that the environmental management that farmers are contracted to do in good faith is recognised and that the impact of the recent trend towards de-stocking the uplands for example is addressed as a matter of some urgency.

"It's clear from the report that there needs to be more Wales-specific data available on the state of some of these species as there is great potential for farmers and conservationists to work together to balance the needs of biodiversity with food production and food security in the future."