Farmers in Caernarfonshire have been urged not to join the long list of fatality statistics, and make their safety on farm a priority.

Speaking after a recent County Executive meeting, FUW Caernarfonshire County Chairman Dafydd Williams said: “Thinking of other people’s welfare and safety is often easier than thinking of ourselves. You understand the responsibility you have looking after an employee. But we must take care of ourselves too and that includes looking after our own safety on the farm.

“Over the last twenty years, other industries such as construction have made huge improvements to their safety records, and farming has not. It is frightening to think that you are now six times more likely to be killed on a farm than you would on a building site!

“That of course is not right and we have to address the issue - each and every one of us, on our own farms. Agriculture is known to be one of the most dangerous professions with farmers often working alone, in challenging weather conditions and in stressful situations.

“The risks on farms are all well-known and it shouldn’t be so difficult to manage them. But all too often we put ourselves in situations where one slip can have life changing or even fatal consequences.”

The figures published in the Health and Safety Executive’s report 'Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2018/19' show 39 people were killed as a result of farming and other agriculture-related activities during the year, that’s 6 more people than the 5-year average of 33 per year. 

Nearly half of the agricultural workers killed were over 60 with overturning vehicles or being struck by moving vehicles causing most deaths. 

Mr Williams urged farmers to think about what they’re doing before getting started. “6 people died in Wales last year because of an accident on the farm. That’s 6 families who went through life-changing trauma and many more will have been affected by the tragedies. It is not acceptable,” he added.  

During the County meeting, the Chairman also drew attention to working from heights and the need for general maintenance on farms in order to avoid accidents, including encouraging the members to have their outdoor electricity circuits tested. 

“All too often we see problems arising from cables being in poor condition after squirrels and rats chewing them. Having them regularly tested can help avoid so much inconvenience as well as avoid fatal accidents. Follow all the advice including wearing that helmet and make the promise to your family and yourself that you will come home at the end of the day,”he said.

Farmers from Brecon and Radnor have highlighted their concerns about the future of farming during a recent farm visit in South East Wales. 

Opening the gates to his farm Pencoedcae near Tredegar, Farmers’ Union of Wales Vice President Brian Bowen welcomed newly elected MP Fay Jones to discuss issues such as the Agricultural Bill, the urgent need for frameworks and Brexit.

Brian runs a mixed suckler cow and hill sheep unit and 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.

Speaking about the Agriculture Bill, Brian Bowen said: “The Bill does nothing to ensure food imported to the UK meets UK standards — despite ministerial assurances that imported food would meet our standards. That is a huge concern for our farmers.”

While Clause 27 of the Bill, gives the Secretary of State powers to impose written contracts or specific contract terms, it still falls short he stressed.  

“The Bill does not extend the powers of the Groceries Adjudicator to cover the whole supply chain. We will therefore continue to stress that farmers selling produce to a supermarket via an intermediary or processor will remain vulnerable.” 

Farmers further highlighted the urgent need for frameworks in the UK if the UK's 'home market' is to continue working properly and fairly. 

“We need frameworks to prevent unfair competition between producers in different parts of the UK. The Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Order illustrates our fears: It removes the EU Pillar 1 financial ceilings mainly to allow Scotland to pay more money to farmers following Lord Bew’s review of payments. 

“If an additional windfall promised by the UK Government in August 2019 is paid through the BPS in 2020, the difference between average Scottish and Welsh farm payments will be around £16,200.

“Paying such an additional sum was not possible under the EU framework as it would have exceeded the Pillar 1 financial ceiling,” said Brian Bowen. 

Emphasising the importance of trade, Union officials told MP that 35% or more of Welsh lamb goes to Europe and that trade there is important. But with 60%+ going to England — it is critical that nothing breaks the UK Home market as a policy in devolved arrangements.

“This is a challenge philosophically and politically for some: Frameworks, by definition, restrict devolution and sovereignty, yet no advanced or mature nation which has a trading arrangement with another country or is part of a single market does not operate without the restrictions of frameworks that ensure the proper functioning of the market.” 

Since 2016, following an internal consultation, the FUW has argued for frameworks to be agreed between UK Governments in order to prevent inappropriate differences between policies and funding in different parts of the UK.

Farmers across Wales are embracing conservation work and aiming to increase biodiversity on their holdings. Many are actively providing habitats that will help reverse a decline in species, often without grant aid.

John and Sarah Yeomans, who farm at Llwyn y Brain, Adfa, Newtown, are committed to do what they can to ensure that food production works hand in hand with conservation and environmental goals, and hosted a Big Farmland Bird Count (BFBC) event to demonstrate what species they have on their farm.

The Yeomans family farm a fragmented upland and reclaimed hill unit of around 285 acres (115ha) running up to 1420 feet above sea level. They keep around 90 cows and replacement heifers, mainly Limousin and British Blue x alongside a flock of around 700 Beulah ewes and ewe lambs.

The family hosted the BFBC event with Matt Goodall from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and were also joined by a number of neighbouring farmers, exploring ways to boost the variety of wild birds on their farm land. 

John said: “A lot of farmers, by their nature, are already doing a lot of conservation work. With or without grants. The problem is not many people know about the good work that is being carried out by farmers, so I hope that in future farmers can be portrayed in a better light.”

“The aim of the Big Farmland Bird Count is to raise awareness of the great conservation work being done on farms across Wales and to also highlight what can be done to help farmland birds survive this difficult time of year so that the breeding populations are increased,” says Matt who wants to encourage Welsh farms to take part in the initiative.

Walking around the farm, the family count the different types of birds who call the trees, hedgerows and grassland at Llwyn y Brain, home.

“I think we’ve between 50 to 60 different species of bird here, including Lapwings, Hedge Sparrows, Tree Creepers and the Cockatiel in the front room who is in his third decade,” says John. 

“But we’d like to do more work with the GWCT to work out how we can increase the number and ensure we have a healthy, thriving population here. 

“Whatever we do though, we need to have a successful business to go with it. Livestock helps our grass grow, and they turn that into edible protein. Our sheep and cattle are part of the solution and I think it’s fair to say that healthy livestock positively contribute to biodiversity and conservation,” said John. 

Keen to go a step further in their conservation efforts, the Yeomans family want to do more but fear that farmers sometimes aren’t given the right tools and information to achieve desired outcomes.

“An interesting Glastir option highlighted by Matt at the event, was installing bird feeding stations across the farm to help the birds survive over the winter. Annoyingly until today, I didn’t know you can add this to your Glastir plan - that has never been promoted to us. We would certainly have added that option to our environment scheme plan, had we known about it.

It’s that time of year again when we start thinking about Single Application Forms (SAF). The application window opens on Monday 2 March and the Farmers’ Union of Wales is reminding its members that county staff are here to help and ready to take the stress of filling the form away from you. 

The FUW provides this service exclusively to all paid-up members as part of their membership package, which has proved invaluable for thousands of members over the years - saving them time and a paperwork-headache. 

FUW Membership and Operations Manager Caryl Roberts said: “The SAF completion process is probably the single most important form completion exercise being carried out by Welsh farmers since 2004, and the financial repercussions of errors on the forms are severe. Our staff are not only well trained but very well practised in dealing with the complex application process.”

Since the Welsh Government mandated that all applications should be done online, the FUW is focused on providing the best possible service to its members. 

“I encourage our members and first time form fillers to contact their local office as soon as possible to book an appointment if they need help in filling out the form,” added Caryl Roberts.