The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed the decision to set up an independent review panel into the Welsh Assembly Government's controversial land management scheme, Glastir, after it received fewer than 3,000 applications from farmers.

"Some serious questions now need to be asked as to why we are in this situation," said FUW president Gareth Vaughan. "The FUW has been expressing its profound concerns about the scheme for over twelve months and it is only now the Assembly have woken up to the fact that the scheme is currently impractical for many farmers.

"Last year the union called for a 12-month delay to the introduction of the scheme so that it could be fully thought out, piloted and all elements launched at the same time so that farmers could make considered business decisions.

"It is, therefore, no surprise that less than 20% of those who expressed an interest in the scheme have actually submitted application forms, and we are sadly now in a 'we told you so' situation.

"However, the decision by the Minister to establish an independent review panel to try and make the scheme more practical must be welcomed, providing the advice of the panel is fully accepted by the Assembly and acted upon quickly."

The Farmers' Union of Wales has welcomed the decision by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to protect key priority areas in the 2011/12 draft budget.

Areas which have been targeted for protection include the delivery of the Rural Development Plan, the administration of the Single Payment Scheme, bovine TB eradication, and the Young Entrants' Support Scheme.

Responding to the announcement, FUW President Gareth Vaughan said: "The current financial climate means that a reduction in the Rural Affairs department's draft budget was inevitable.

"While such cuts are naturally a cause for concern, we welcome the decision to protect key areas relating to the Single Payment, Rural Development, bovine TB, and the YES Scheme.

"The Single Payment Scheme and Rural Development Plan deliver significant sums of money to Wales's communities, and failure to protect these budgets could have led to the loss of European funding which is essential to our rural economy.

"Eradication of the current bTB disease epidemic and maintaining support for young people are also important areas that we are glad to see being protected."

However, Mr Vaughan emphasised that the Union would continue to monitor the situation closely.

"Welsh agriculture makes an essential contribution to our economy, culture, and environment, and we must ensure that cuts do not have a knock-on effect which undermines these key contributions."

The Farmers’ Union of Wales’ milk and dairy produce committee has backed a policy of supporting traditional family farms rather than the much debated concept of "super-dairies".

At a recent meeting of the committee, delegates unanimously backed a policy position stating that: "The issues surrounding super-dairies are complex and some groups have hijacked the issue to lobby on separate or peripheral issues.

"The Farmers’ Union of Wales does not agree that super-dairies would routinely lead to welfare issues, as some would have us believe. However, the union has major concerns regarding the impact of such farms in terms of the public’s perception of the dairy industry, and on the milk price and the industry as a whole.

"Given that a single super-dairy could take the place of scores of average sized family dairy farms, the union would prefer to see traditional family farms staying in business and receiving a fair price for their milk, rather than single massive units pushing others out of business and being used as an excuse to further depress the milk prices received by average sized Welsh dairy farms."

Committee chairman Eifion Huws, a dairy farmer from Anglesey, welcomed the decision. He said: "The size of the average dairy herd in Wales is around 75, so it does not take a genius to work out that a single super-dairy milking three thousand cattle could take the place of forty average sized family farms.

"It also seems inevitable that the ability of super-dairies to supply large volumes will lead to those who supply more modest volumes being accused of being ‘inefficient’ and receiving a lower milk price as a result.

"We are already seeing a situation in which farms which would previously have been considered as not insubstantial are being paid a lot less for their milk than their larger neighbours, and super-dairies are likely to accelerate this trend.

"The major retailers are driving some farmers towards this type of expansion, and many others out of the industry. My preference would be to see traditional family dairy farms staying in business and receiving a fair price for their milk, rather than a single massive unit pushing others out of business and being used as an excuse to further depress the milk prices received by average sized Welsh dairy farms.

"I believe that the general public also agrees with this sentiment.

"The FUW was set up more than half a century ago to protect the interests of Welsh family farms, and I believe that this policy is fully in keeping with that objective."

The Farmers' Union of Wales has stressed European Commission proposals, published today, relating to changes to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should prompt action by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to take a proactive role in defending Wales's interests.

FUW president Gareth Vaughan said: "Today's publication contains a great deal of information which highlights the importance of maintaining a strong Common Agricultural Policy in order to ensure food security and protect our rural communities and environments.

"However, the document is weak on specific details and really serves to outline a list of broad agenda items for the forthcoming debate on the future of the CAP post 2013."

Mr Vaughan, speaking prior to a briefing session on the publication with Owen Jones, Head of Unit for the EU's Financial Management of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, said: "Agriculture makes an essential contribution to Wales's economy and the CAP represents an annual injection of around £380m into our rural communities.

"In light of this importance, the Welsh Assembly Government must now rise to the challenge and argue for a post 2013 CAP which gives the maximum benefit to Wales."

The document - entitled "The CAP towards 2020: Meeting the food, natural resources, and territorial challenges of the future" - names the three main objectives of a future CAP as being viable food production, sustainable management of natural resources and climate action, and balanced territorial development.

The document also draws attention to the need to ensure farmers receive a fairer share of returns from the supply chain, drawing attention to the fact that farmers' share of retail prices have fallen dramatically over the years, while the profits of others, such as the major retailers, have boomed.

"There are a number of welcome suggestions in the document, and others which are not welcome," said Mr Vaughan.

"However, there is little or no meat on the bones at the moment and the real devil will be in the more detailed proposals which will emerge over the coming months.

"The Welsh Assembly Government must do all it can to influence those proposals in a way which benefits Wales, and ensures that we get a share of CAP funding which more properly reflects the challenges faced in Wales."

The FUW has previously been severely critical of WAG's failure to investigate what Welsh priorities should be in terms of CAP reform.

In July this year the union told the Assembly's Rural Development Sub Committee that WAG "appeared content to sit on the sidelines with no clear view on CAP reform, despite the importance of the CAP to Wales's economy, while other countries were proactively influencing the debate at an European level in a way which might not necessarily be beneficial to Wales".

Mr Vaughan said there are a number of welcome suggestions in the document and others which are not welcome. "I am particularly concerned at the proposed 'greening' of Pillar one, which could require farmers to undertake additional environmental management over and above cross compliance.

"Our view is that environmental goods and services have a value to society and so farmers should be compensated for undertaking them, as currently happens under Pillar two."