The FUW has branded European Commission proposals which would restrict Welsh arable farming as 'bad for farming, bad for food, and bad for the environment' following a meeting of its arable, horticulture and cropping committee.
Under the EC proposals, Welsh farmers with more than three hectares of arable land would be required to plant at least three crops, irrespective of whether those crops are suited to their land or businesses, with no one crop taking up less that 5 and more than 70 percent of the land.
Newly elected committee chairman Maelgwyn Davies, who farms around 65-70 acres of barley, wheat and maize for cattle feed, said: "The proposals take no account of the fact that on large numbers of Welsh farms growing three crops would be impractical, uneconomic and bad for the environment.
"It would mean farmers in Wales becoming less able to grow crops for their own use, thereby undermining farm self sufficiency, as well as restricting our ability to respond to market prices and demands.
"The draft regulation does not properly recognise the priority of ensuring food security, which has been identified by the Commission as a priority. In fact, it would undermine food security at a time when it is acknowledged that global food shortages are inevitable.
"The idea of farmers with more than three hectares of arable land having to grow at least three different crops, with no one crop being grown on less than 5 percent and more than 70 percent of the land is completely unrealistic for large numbers of Welsh farms due to our climate and topography.
Mr Davies said the proposals would also have a negative impact on the environment.
"The growing of arable crops is encouraged under agri-environmental schemes and by wildlife organisations, because they add to the diversity of food sources which are available for wildlife. These proposals would push many mixed farms away from undertaking mixed farming, thereby having a detrimental impact on the environment.
"Not only would this be damaging to local environments -- it would also have a broader impact on the global environment in terms of our carbon footprint, since it would reduce our ability to grow crops locally for our own use, leading to more feed being imported from countries which have poor environmental track records."
