The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has thrown its weight behind an amendment to the UK Government’s EU withdrawal deal motion which could prevent the devastation of a hard Brexit.

The amendment, tabled by Labour MP Hilary Benn and signed by both Labour and Conservative MPs, was supported unanimously by FUW standing and county committee chairmen during a special meeting held on Wednesday (December 5).

Mr Benn’s amendment, which declines the EU withdrawal deal put forward by the UK Government, but also rejects the UK leaving the EU without some form of withdrawal agreement and framework for the future UK-EU relationship being in place, is being supported by Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats, as well as many Conservative and Labour MPs.

Speaking after the meeting, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Following a lengthy discussion, it was agreed unanimously that Mr Benn’s amendment was the option which minimises the risk of the UK leaving the EU without a deal - something that would be devastating for Welsh farming and the UK as a whole.”

The West Wales FUW Academy, including the Ceredigion, Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire branches, recently discussed a host of #FarmingMatters when they met with Leader of the Welsh Conservative party Paul Davies AM.

The meeting was held at Trefochlyd, Croesgoch, Pembrokeshire, and was hosted by Euros Rees, who runs the family farm with his parents Peter and Dilys Rees and his uncle David Rees.

Delegates enjoyed a tour of the farm, which has been run by the family since it was purchased in the late 1930s. Euros is the third generation to farm Trefochlyd, which was primarily a dairy farm for many years but due to pressures in the industry and the need for heavy investment the difficult decision was made to sell the dairy herd.

Alongside his father and uncle, Euros set out to change the farming business and it was decided to go into beef production. Fast forward a few years and the family have built up a commercial suckler herd of about 50 cows.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has told Prime Minister Theresa May that while the EU Withdrawal deal would give Welsh farmers welcome breathing space, assurances were needed that Welsh agriculture would not lose out under a final deal after 2020.

Speaking after a special meeting with Mrs May at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair on Tuesday (27 November), FUW President Glyn Roberts said:

“The Withdrawal agreement agreed by the Cabinet and the EU contains almost 600 pages of details regarding what would happen during a 21 month period, and those pages contain many important assurances for agriculture and other industries.

“By comparison, the political declaration which is part of the same package and concerns what might happen in the subsequent decades is just 36 pages long, and far more ambiguous in terms of the implications for agriculture and other industries.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed today’s (Monday, November 26) announcement by Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths that over 85% of farmers’ BPS 2018 claims will be made on the first day of the payment window (Monday, December 3 ), meaning that over £181m will be paid into the bank accounts of over 13,200 Welsh farm businesses. This includes nearly 1,000 farmers who applied for the BPS loan scheme but will now get their BPS on day one.