by Angharad Evans, Welsh Editor, Y Tir

Can you believe that we're half way through 2018 already? Time flies!  June has been a busy month for us, the first show of the season, shearing, being able to make silage on the longest day of the year, summer solcstice. It’s been nice not to have to worry about the weather forecast and no real rush to get the harvest done. The month concluded with a very special weekend of celebrating countryside culture at its best.

Younger members of the Meirionnydd branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales were last week joined by the Welsh Government’s Head of Future Farming Policy, Gareth Wilson, during four successful farm visits in the eastern region of the county.

The visits had been arranged to highlight the concerns of younger farmers, and involved conversations with family members on the current state of the agricultural industry and the uncertainties and challenges ahead, particularly in terms of UK leaving the European Union.

FUW Meirionnydd County Chairman, Geraint Davies, who also chairs the FUW Younger Voice for Farming Committee said: “The farms visited represented a cross section of the industry in Meirionnydd, with some being run by owner occupiers, and others being tenanted farms or with land under grazing agreements.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has issued a discussion document on the need for a UK policy framework which prevents unfair competition between UK farmers, market distortion and other negative impacts after Brexit.

‘Filling the void - steps towards a post-Brexit UK policy framework’ highlights the fact that an ‘unprecedented legislative void’ will be created post-Brexit, allowing policies across the UK’s four nations to diverge to the extent that they may result in market distortion and unfair competition between farmers, and cause significant disruption to the functioning of the UK’s internal markets and supply chains.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “As an organisation established more than sixty years ago to advance and protect the interests of Welsh farmers, the Farmers’ Union of Wales remains fully committed to devolution and the advantages it has brought to Wales and other nations over the past two decades.

“But such changes do not negate the need for all our nations to work together to develop approaches which are mutually beneficial and protect not only our farmers and internal markets, but also our status and reputation across Europe and the World.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed the Welsh Government’s agreement to its request for derogations to be allowed where certain Glastir rules are adding to problems caused by the hot weather.

The FUW had written to Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths highlighting how problems caused by the extremely wet weather experienced from last summer onwards were being exacerbated by the subsequent long period of dry weather.

Farmer across Wales have reported that silage and hay crops have been particularly badly affected, with quality and quantity deteriorating with each day that passes in the current hot weather.

For those in Glastir agreements, such problems are compounded by restrictions which limit farmers’ ability to make up for such impacts, most notably the restriction on taking crops before the 15th July.

In his letter, FUW President Glyn Roberts stated: “Given the knock on impact this will have on forage supplies in the autumn and winter, particularly if we again experience extreme weather as we have done over the past ten months, and the degree to which these restrictions are undermining the ability of farms to make their businesses more resilient, we believe it is imperative that derogations be granted as a matter of urgency.”