The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed the news that free BVD testing for cattle farmers in Wales has been extended until 31 March 2021. 

The testing, which is provided through Gwaredu BVD, supports both youngstock testing and the hunt for persistently infected animals in order to help herds eliminate the disease and achieve BVD free status.  

More than 8,300 herds in Wales are now part of the programme and financial support is available to hunt PIs until the end of 2022. 

Dr Hazel Wright, FUW Senior Policy Officer, said: “The FUW, along with other industry bodies, continues to work towards those measures which will help Wales eliminate BVD.  This extension allows more time for cattle herds to engage in this free testing programme in order to ensure that they have prepared their herds for the possibility of BVD legislation next year.”

The FUW was part of an industry group that submitted a paper to Welsh Government for consideration of BVD legislation following the voluntary Gwaredu BVD programme.  A consultation is set to take place in the autumn and the FUW will consult with its membership on the proposals. 

“The Union’s Animal Health and Welfare Committee have been fully engaged in both Gwardeu BVD and in discussing how future BVD legislation might work.  We know that BVD is costly and estimates suggest that this disease can cost £4,500 per year for the average beef herd, and £15,000 for dairy herds through associated issues such as lowered milk yields,  poor fertility, diarrhoea and respiratory problems.   

“We continue to encourage our members to participate in Gwaredu BVD and we are urging members to take advantage of this additional funding in order to determine the status of their herd and to work towards eliminating the disease where any issues are found,” added Dr Wright.

A damning report on Wales’ Rural Development Programme (RDP) by Audit Wales has highlighted long-standing concerns raised repeatedly by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The Audit Wales Ensuring Value for Money from Rural Development Grants Made Without Competition Report, published today (June 30), says key aspects of the design, operation and oversight of the Welsh Government’s Rural Development fund were not effective enough to ensure £53 million of grant awards would deliver value for money, and that the Welsh Government had adopted an approach of granting funds without competition and, in some cases, without taking any alternative steps to ensure the projects would deliver value for money.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Welsh farmers pay the highest percentage of money possible into the RDP pot through a process called pillar transfer, totalling around £40 million a year, whereas in most EU countries and regions farmers pay a tiny fraction of this figure.

“When it was announced in 2013 that Wales would have the maximum 15% pillar transfer rate - the highest in the EU - we were promised an RDP that would in return deliver transformational change for our industry.

“Having since paid in a total of around £230 million, our industry deserved far better from the RDP, and the concerns that we had raised repeatedly since 2013 over the RDP should have been acted on sooner.”

The DPJ Foundation are offering free mental health awareness training online to anyone who works in or lives in the agricultural sector in Wales.

As part of a grant from Welsh Government announced last year, the foundation initially booked several sessions across Wales to train up those in the community with the skills in Mental Health Awareness. Due to Covid-19 these sessions had to be cancelled but The DPJ Foundation have been working to find a way of providing this training during this difficult time.  

Emma Picton-Jones founder of The DPJ Foundation said ‘As with everyone, we have had to make some changes during this period and this is just one of them. The training is so important, especially with isolation being so prevalent and farmers facing an uncertain future. We hope by providing these sessions online we can put the confidence in our community to look out for each other and know how to support one another. It is going to take a long time for our sector to recover. It is vital that we understand how to look out for the most vulnerable among us’

Members of the presidential team of the Farmers’ Union of Wales have been re-elected at a special virtual meeting of the Council of the Union.

The Presidential Team is democratically elected by the Union’s farmer members from across all 12 County Branches.

In their roles as Official FUW Representatives, the Presidential Team speaks exclusively on behalf of the Farmers of Wales at local, national and international levels. 

They also frequently represent the Union at ministerial meetings, stakeholder workshops and local branch meetings.

The full team includes the President Glyn Roberts and Deputy President Ian Rickman, as well as the Vice president for the North, Mid and South of Wales regions. 

Ian Rickman is a Carmarthenshire sheep farmer, who is a past county chairman of the FUW in Carmarthenshire, and has held the position of chairman of the hill farming and marginal land committee.

North Wales Vice President Eifion Huws, a highly respected Ayrshire cattle judge and dairy farmer, who has been representing the dairy industry in the hope of acquiring better conditions and prices for farmers.

Mid Wales Vice President Brian Bowen, who farms a mixed suckler cow and hill sheep unit near Tredegar. The farm consists of 150 acres of owned land with a further 1000 rented acres and 1200 acres of common rights on three separate commons. He runs the farm, along with his father, mother and son.