THE FUW (Farmers Union of Wales) will begin 2026 on a charitable and community-focused note with the return of its annual Farmhouse Breakfast Week.

More than twenty breakfast events will take place across Wales, bringing farmers, families and rural communities together over locally produced food while raising funds for good causes. Last year’s initiative raised more than £21,000 for local and national charities, including over £13,500 for the FUW President’s chosen charity, the Wales Air Ambulance.

This year’s Farmhouse Breakfast Week will also shine a spotlight on the forthcoming Senedd election in May, with the FUW calling on the next Welsh Government to deliver stability, sustainability and long-term support for Welsh family farms.

A flagship breakfast event in Cardiff Bay, sponsored by Samuel Kurtz MS, will bring together politicians and key stakeholders to discuss the future of farming in Wales.

The week will also provide an opportunity for farmers to learn more about the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), as well as the local expert support and services offered by the FUW as the scheme moves from design into delivery.

Ahead of the event, FUW President Ian Rickman said: “January can be a challenging time for farmers, with short days, cold weather and heavy workloads. Farmhouse Breakfast Week offers a welcome chance for farmers, friends and rural communities to come together, share the load and enjoy a hearty breakfast.

“With the Senedd election just months away, this year’s breakfasts will also provide an important platform to highlight the FUW’s key priorities — stability, sustainability and long-term support for Welsh family farms.

“There’s a warm welcome to everyone, and we’re looking forward to successful events in kitchens, community centres and cafés across Wales once again, celebrating the best of local produce while raising funds for vital charities, including the Wales Air Ambulance.”

The week is once again being supported by FUW Insurance Services Ltd, which was recently named among the Insurance Age Top 100 UK Brokers for 2025.

FUW Insurance Services provides tailored insurance solutions for agricultural, commercial and personal needs, from farm and smallholding cover to life, home and motor insurance. The company focuses on delivering personalised local service across Wales, with profits reinvested into supporting the Union’s work on behalf of Welsh farmers.

Chair of FUW Insurance Services, Ann Beynon OBE, said:
“We’re delighted to be supporting Farmhouse Breakfast Week once again. Rooted at the heart of rural communities, our business is proud to help bring people together to celebrate outstanding Welsh produce, enjoy the company of friends and neighbours, and highlight how our services support rural businesses.

“The week perfectly showcases the strength and spirit of rural Wales — all over a plate of breakfast. We’re incredibly grateful to the local producers and volunteers whose support makes these events possible year after year.”

A PREVIOUSLY backed call against officer recommendations for the relocation of a Pembrokeshire farm diversification scheme which packages and distributes specialist medical equipment across Europe will again be considered by councillors.

At the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County council’s planning committee, members backed a call by Mr Van Der Spoel for the relocation and expansion of an existing farm diversification business into an existing agricultural building at Castle Villa, Hayscastle despite an officer recommendation for refusal.

Back in July a similar application by Mr Van Der Spoel, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, was refused by planning officers.

A supporting statement for that application said the Dutch-born applicant, together with his wife and adult daughter ran the farm diversification business packing specialist medical supplies at their 135-acre sheep farm.

It added: “The business run from this site is FRIO ASTRID EURO Ltd, which has a franchise agreement with FRIO UK. This business has been run from Castle Villa since its incorporation in 1998. The business was initially run from the stable building on the farmyard at Castle Villa.

“The business set-up involves receiving stock from FRIO UK in Wolfscastle, packaging orders and distributing the stock to seven Western Europe countries.”

Wolfscastle-based FRIO produces the world’s first patented insulin cooling wallet which keeps insulin and other temperature-sensitive medicines cool and safe.

The scheme for the business, said to have outgrown its current site, was previously refused by county planners on grounds including a lack of “robust evidence” to prove it couldn’t be sited within a nearby settlement or an allocated employment site, such as Haverfordwest.

Since then, an application seeking to address the reasons for refusal was submitted, and, at the request of local member Cllr Mark Carter, a call for the scheme to be decided by full planning committee rather than delegated to officers was backed at the October meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning delegation panel.

The latest application is again, after its ‘minded to’ backing at the December meeting, recommended for refusal on similar grounds to previously at the January 13 planning meeting.

It has returned to the January committee for ratification after a ‘cooling off’ period, and, if backed then, will ultimately be decided by full council.

A report for members following the ‘minded to’ approval, warns: “Members should be aware that if they are ‘minded to’ approve the application on the basis of economic benefits and farm diversification, this is a consideration which can be applied to many other existing sites. This would have further consequences for the implementation of policies within the LDP and its delivery.”

It adds that, if it is backed again, it includes a condition, suggested by the agent, that: “Should the farm and business ever be operating by different individuals/companies, the use of this building by FRIO ASTRID must cease and be relocated should further planning permission not be obtained.

“This will be regulated by the submission of documents annually to demonstrate the farm and business remain under ownership by the same individual/company.”

THE WELSH Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Government to extend the Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme to rural parts of Wales, arguing that Welsh communities were excluded when the scheme was originally designed under a Conservative administration.

Speaking during a parliamentary debate this week, David Chadwick, the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ Westminster spokesperson, said the current structure of the scheme benefits rural areas in England and Scotland but leaves every part of rural Wales outside its scope.

Rural Fuel Duty Relief is designed to reduce fuel costs in sparsely populated areas, where motorists are estimated to spend around £800 more per year on fuel than those living in urban communities. Under the scheme, fuel retailers can claim a 5p-per-litre rebate on petrol and diesel, which is passed on to customers through lower prices at the pump.

Although Wales is among the most rural nations in the UK, no Welsh areas were included when the scheme was introduced more than a decade ago. As a result, drivers in rural Welsh communities continue to pay higher fuel prices than their counterparts in qualifying areas of England and Scotland.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say this exclusion should now be addressed, and have proposed a consultation to determine which areas in Wales would qualify for relief. Counties including Powys, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Gwynedd have been identified by the party as likely beneficiaries.

The party has also renewed calls for the introduction of a Pumpwatch scheme, which would allow motorists to easily compare fuel prices and guard against unfair pricing. A similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland, where fuel prices are often among the lowest in the UK. The Liberal Democrats say the previous Government committed to introducing Pumpwatch but did not implement it before the end of the last Parliament.

However, the UK Government has previously argued that fuel duty policy must balance support for rural motorists with wider fiscal pressures, and has pointed to the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and freeze on duty rates as measures intended to help drivers nationwide. Ministers have also highlighted devolved responsibilities in Wales, noting that transport policy and broader rural support are shared between Westminster and the Welsh Government.

Commenting, Mr Chadwick said:
“People in rural Wales are being clobbered by sky-high fuel costs, yet they were deliberately excluded from a scheme designed to help rural drivers elsewhere in the UK. That is fundamentally unfair.

“In Parliament this week, I challenged the Government on why rural communities in Wales are locked out of Rural Fuel Duty Relief while parts of England and Scotland benefit, purely because of the way the scheme was set up.

“Rural drivers should not be punished for where they live, and I will keep pressing for a fair deal for communities across rural Wales.”

The Herald has contacted the UK Government for comment on whether it plans to review the scope of the Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme to include areas of Wales.