The Farmers’ Union of Wales is exploring hurdles facing the dairy sector in Wales at the upcoming Welsh Dairy Show (Tuesday 24 October). Farmers visiting the event at the Carmarthen showground are being asked to participate in a survey that will look at specific challenges dairy businesses face and how that is impacting their business decisions. 

Participants will be entered into a prize draw, with the top prize for filling out the survey being a £50 voucher from KiwiKit and an FUW beanie hat, which is sponsored by FUW Insurance Services. 

Speaking ahead of the event, acting FUW Milk and Dairy produce committee chairman, Brian Walters said: “Our dairy farmers are facing a myriad of issues that we will be exploring in more detail based on the results of the survey. 

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has chosen its winning photograph for the 2024 charity calendar, which will be available to buy from county offices and at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair (27 and 28 November 2023), with £1 per sale going towards the FUW President’s charity, the Wales Air Ambulance. 

The Welsh Black with Cadair Idris in the background was taken by Sarah Carr and chosen as the top prize image. It will feature on the cover of the new calendars for 2024.

The other winners are: Rebecca Williams; Adrienne Thorpe; Elliw Jones-Evans; Adrian Morgan; Tracey Evans; Grace Marshall; Helen Powell; Chloe Hyde; Elliw Baines Roberts; Andrew Roberts and Gwenllian Evans.

The top prize for the front cover photograph is £250, which will be presented to Sarah Carr on the Monday at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair. The other winners of the competition, whose photographs are displayed in the calendar, will receive a copy of the bilingual calendar.

FUW President Ian Rickman said: “The competition has proven popular again this year and it was a pleasure to look through the entries. It was no easy task mind, as so many wonderful images were sent in from across Wales. 

“What this competition has highlighted again is that farming matters to all of us in one way or another and that our family farms are vital in not just the way of life here in Wales, but also in looking after the countryside and our livestock. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for showcasing farming and our countryside in such a wonderful way.”

The calendars will be available to buy from your local county office (keep a lookout on our social media pages as to when they will be available). 

They will also be sold on the FUW stand at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair for £5 each with £1 per sale going towards the President’s charity, the Wales Air Ambulance.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has outlined how alternatives to tree planting can achieve equivalent reductions in emissions while also delivering a broad range of benefits at the Plaid Cymru conference, which was held on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 October 2023, in Aberystwyth.

Hosting a fringe event on Friday, 6 October 2023, the Union highlighted that tree planting is just one of the many ways in which net Welsh carbon emissions can be reduced. 

Presenting the latest available statistics to delegates, the FUW highlighted that in 2019, Welsh energy production was responsible for 10,953,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Offsetting this, Union officials stressed, would require around 1.1 million hectares of land to be planted with trees.

Farmers’ Union of Wales members from across Wales have voiced extreme anger at the new Habitat Wales scheme after calculations revealed massive falls in compensatory payments they would receive for undertaking environmental work, and having encountered major flaws and inaccuracies in the farm maps published last week.

FUW President Ian Rickman said: “FUW staff and officials have spoken to members from across Wales in meetings and during the process of assisting members with their applications, and there is real anger about this scheme. 

“The scheme was foisted upon the industry at the 11th hour as a done deal, and while a small number of improvements have been made in response to FUW calls, it has certainly not been developed in cooperation with the farming industry as it should have been.