Monday July 23 marked the return of tens of thousands of visitors to Llanelwedd, where the Royal Welsh Show commenced in a flurry of activity.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys Dafydd Llywelyn helped kick-start proceedings, as he welcomed a panel of experts to discuss matters of rural and wildlife crime with members of the public. The panel consisted of six members from key stakeholders and commentators, including Natural Resources Wales, North Wales Police, Farmers' Union of Wales, Chief Constable Mark Collins of Dyfed-Powys Police, the Wales lead for Wildlife Crime and Rural Affairs, Gwent Police, and the veteran agriculture broadcaster and journalist, Anna Jones.

The Forum coincided with the publishing of the 2018 National Rural Crime Network Survey 2018, which revealed that low expectations, under reporting, perceived poor response and outcomes as well as worry are all contributing factors to an increased fear of crime amongst our rural communities. Furthermore, results shows that around a third of crimes in rural areas go unreported to Police, and is rising. The judgement was unanimous; to address this, agencies must take a proactive approach toward policing rural areas, and that this must be reflected in organisational policy and decision making.

The announcement that the Wales Farm Safety Partnership will receive £46,000 to promote Health and Safety within the agricultural and forestry sector, has been described as a milestone in tackling the problem by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The funding will be used to support the Partnership’s campaign ‘Working together to make farming safer’.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “This is a milestone in tackling the issue of farm safety and I welcome the announcement wholeheartedly.

Farmers from all over Wales enjoyed a constructive meeting with Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths, focusing strongly on the recently launched Welsh Government consultation paper on post-Brexit agricultural and land use policies.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “This was a constructive meeting and we have raised numerous concerns about what is being proposed in this consultation document and our members have been quite outspoken about some of the proposals.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) says the current and coming impacts of the weather on Wales’ farming industry should be a key focus for governments, and should not be forgotten amidst other important debates to do with Brexit and future rural policies.

Speaking at the FUW’s pre-Royal Welsh Show press conference, FUW President Glyn Roberts said that while concerns about issues such as post-Brexit trade deals or future agricultural policies were of critical importance, the need to look after animals now and ensure there is enough fodder to look after them through the winter must be a priority.