The Welsh Assembly Government's controversial land management scheme Glastir misses an opportunity to make a real difference to climate change, says the Farmers' Union of Wales today (Tuesday, 16 March).

"Glastir is missing the opportunity to make a real difference to climate change because it ignores the opportunities for sequestrating carbon from managed grazing and concentrates on tree planting. Such a measure is unlikely to be taken up by farmers as they would be reluctant to see agricultural land taken out of production with little gain," said the union's deputy policy director Rhian Nowell-Phillips.

"The Assembly Government is keen to promote Glastir as a land management scheme, but it has failed to 'think outside the box' to look at opportunities beyond those available under previous agri-environment schemes, which is disappointing given the emerging evidence about the contribution grazing systems can make to carbon uptake."

Ms Nowell-Phillips also expressed concern that bringing forward just one element of the targeted scheme could create even more confusion amongst farmers who are already not sure whether they will be able to access this part of the scheme.

"One of our concerns has been how difficult it will be for farmers to decide whether to go into the all-Wales element without knowing whether they will be accepted into the targeted element which is based on delivering six objectives including carbon and water storage, water quality, historic environment, biodiversity and access.

"The fact that the Minister has announced the early start of one of the elements of the scheme reinforces the FUW's view that the current timetable means that insufficient information is available to farmers who will need to indicate their interest in the scheme's ' targeted element' by ticking a box on their 2010 SAF form within the next few weeks.

"Farmers, like any other businessmen, need time to consider what is available to them under the provisions of the scheme before making a long-term business commitment.

"The FUW continues to demand a full economic impact assessment of the new scheme in view of the fact that the current Tir Mynydd scheme helped to avoid land abandonment and rural depopulation.

"Unless Glastir is made accessible and simpler there could be severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments, especially in the uplands."

The FUW also has great concern about the current timetable given the diverse problems associated with Glastir on common land and the problems that are arising with tenancy issues which are likely to preclude many farmers who may wish to access Glastir but through no fault of their own cannot meet the criteria.

"We fear it will be a complex enough process for normal farmland, but on common or tenanted land the complexities are multiplied due to the different ways in which common land is used in different areas and the types of tenancy and grazing agreements that exist in Wales."

The Farmers' Union of Wales Grand Council, comprising of leading members from all the union's 13 county branches, has urged Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to have a "complete rethink" of the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) controversial Glastir land management scheme.

At a quarterly meeting of the Grand Council in Aberystwyth, delegates passed a resolution calling for a complete rethink of the scheme and demanded WAG to deliver an easily accessible and simpler scheme, with project officer support, that is attractive to farmers and landowners.

Chairman of the FUW's land use and parliamentary committee Richard Vaughan, of Pall Mall, Tywyn, who proposed the motion, said the scheme should include support for capital works at entry level, take into account the importance of common land in Wales, and review the necessity of establishing grazing associations to implement the scheme.

Mr Vaughan added: "The current Tir Mynydd scheme's objective is to support and maintain livestock production in the less productive farming areas of Wales in order to avoid land abandonment and rural depopulation. Therefore, if Glastir is not made accessible and simpler it could have severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments especially in Wales's uplands.

"Glastir represents a seed change for farmers in Wales and it's high time that the Assembly realised that farmers need time to adapt and to be given more details about the scheme so that they can make the right business decisions."

Seconding the motion, FUW Meirionnydd county chairman Robert W Evans, of Sylfaen, Barmouth, said due to the scarcity of firm details about the current scheme making a decision on whether to sign up was like going into a restaurant without knowing what's on the menu.

The Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) decision to set up a working group to discuss and resolve issues and concerns raised by common land graziers over the introduction of the controversial Glastir land management scheme was welcomed by members of the Farmers' Union of Wales common land committee today.

"We have been calling for the establishment of this group for the past six months and raised the issue directly with the Minister on a number of occasions last year," said committee chairman Lorraine Howells. "We were, therefore, pleased when, in early January, WAG officials confirmed that this group would be set up.

"The first meeting was held on 17 February, and further meetings will be held on a monthly basis."

Miss Howells is a member of the Glastir Commons Working Group along with FUW policy director Dr Nick Fenwick and chairman of the union's hill farming committee Derek Morgan.

She told today's meeting: "We have been lobbying the Assembly regarding the particular problems associated with common land and Glastir and asking them to set this group up since last summer, so it is good that it is finally off the ground."

However, the committee was unanimous in expressing concern regarding the current timetable given the diverse problems associated with Glastir on common land, and reiterated calls for the scheme's implementation date to be postponed for 12 months.

"Almost 18 per cent of Welsh farms have common land, and this is therefore of critical importance to Welsh agriculture, especially in those areas where common land makes up the majority of farmland.

"Everything must be done to make Glastir accessible to as many commoners throughout Wales as possible but this will take time. The transition from LFA payments, in the form of Tir Mynydd, to the Glastir agri-environmental scheme means a massive escalation in eligibility and compliance criteria.

"This will be a complex enough process for normal farmland, but on common land the complexities are multiplied due to the different ways in which common land is used in different areas, and the diverse range of habitats that exist on Welsh commons.

"Tir Mynydd and its predecessors have helped stem rural depopulation and maintain livestock for decades. If we do not get Glastir right for common land it will have severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments, and accelerate the abandonment of the ancient hefting systems that have defined much of Wales's uplands."

Ynys Môn (Anglesey) MP Albert Owen's Private Member's Bill calling for the appointment of a Grocery Market Ombudsman has made major progress towards becoming law, Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Eifion Huws said today.

"The Bill, which enjoys cross-party support, needed 35 MPs to vote for it during its second reading in the Commons this morning and I am very pleased that it received 44 votes with none in opposition," said Mr Huws, a dairy farmer on Anglesey.

"By clearing this hurdle the Bill has made major progress to becoming law and we strongly hope the big supermarkets will not play for time and try to reduce the powers of the proposed Ombudsman as it passes through parliament.

"The Bill will now be referred to a standing committee and will need continued Government support to proceed further. The FUW will continue to give Mr Owen its enthusiastic backing and we sincerely hope his fellow Labour MPs will also give him their full support.

"The FUW has vigorously backed Mr Owen's campaign to create greater choice and quality for consumers while providing a fair deal to supermarket suppliers and I was delighted to travel to Westminster this week, together with the union's Anglesey county chairman, vice chairman and executive officer, to show our total support for his efforts.

"His Bill will enable the Government to implement the Competition Commission's recommendation for the creation of a new independent arbiter with the power to settle disputes between major retailers and their suppliers and to investigate possible breaches of the recently introduced Groceries Code of Practice.

"Both the Government and the Opposition have already indicated their support for the principle of an Ombudsman. Today's vote is a major step forward towards fairness for consumers above all but also for suppliers."