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Farming

Farmers’ manifestos stress importance of rural economy

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Llyr Gruffydd with Elin Jones, Simon Thomas and Adam Price: Launching Plaid’s rural manifesto

Llyr Gruffydd with Elin Jones, Simon Thomas and Adam Price: Launching Plaid’s rural manifesto

THE FUW’s Manifesto for the Welsh Assembly elections could not be clearer.

The contribution of agriculture to the economy of our rural areas and Wales as a whole cannot be underestimated; Welsh Farm Business Survey figures show that, despite low profitability, a typical farm can annually contribute between £100,000 and £250,000 to the wider economy.

Yet such direct contributions are just the tip of the iceberg; our food and drinks industry is worth £5.2 billion to the Welsh economy, and agriculture has been identified as the most significant contributor to an estimated £1.9 billion in ‘wildlife related activity’ – while the contribution of generations of farming families to the unique landscape and culture so important to our tourism industry is clear to all.

Put simply, farming is the bedrock of our rural communities, without which vast direct and indirect contributions to Wales’ economy as a whole would disappear.

And yet farming and rural affairs have often been perceived to be of little interest to a Welsh Labour government, which draws its strength from Wales’ former industrial heartlands around the south Wales valleys.

In a recent debate in Ceredigion County Council, many members expressed agreement with the view advanced by Cllr Paul Hinch, who said: “This last Welsh Government has no about rural life in Wales or anywhere else.

PARTY POLICIES AND PLEDGES

Certainly Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru have both carved out distinctive positions on rural policy which point out a relative policy vacuum on rural affairs in Welsh Labour’s Assembly election manifesto. Not a single one of Labour’s six ‘key pledges’ relates to farming, other than tangentially, and a sweep of Welsh Labour’s website shows not a single announcement in relation to initiatives to help farmers under threat.

By way of contrast, Plaid Cymru has prepared a specific agricultural manifesto. Shadow Minister for Sustainable Communities, Farming and Food, Llyr Gruffydd, launched his party’s Agriculture Manifesto on Tuesday (April 12), vowing that a Plaid Cymru government would be a strong voice for Wales’ rural communities.

The plans included measures to address Labour’s CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) fiasco, scrap the six-day-standstill rule which is hampering farm businesses, introduce a strategy to save council farms from being sold off, and increase the amount of Welsh food purchased by the public sector in Wales.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Llyr Gruffydd, who lives on a family farm said: “If elected in May, a Plaid Cymru government would vow to be a strong voice for Wales’ rural communities.

“For too long, Labour Ministers have undermined our vital agriculture industry by making Wales the most modulated country in Europe – a decision that took £250m out of the pockets of Welsh farmers.

“Plaid Cymru wants to put this right by bringing forward policies that will ensure that the industry prospers in future.

“Our agriculture manifesto includes ambitious but achievable proposals to address Labour’s CAP fiasco and make sure Welsh farmers have a stronger voice in CAP simplification discussions, and scrap the six-daystandstill rule which is hampering farm businesses at the very time we need more flexibility.

“We would also introduce a strategy to save council farms from being sold off, under a wider programme to support new entrants into the industry.

“As part of Plaid Cymru’s wider proposals to raise procurement levels throughout Wales, we would ensure that the agriculture industry benefits from this by increasing the amount of Welsh food purchased by the public sector.”

Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives launched their rural manifesto on Friday, April 8.

Pledging to ‘bring rural Wales in from the cold’, Andrew RT Davies and Russell George announced a series of policy promises which they claimed recognised the specific needs of rural communities.

Andrew RT Davies, himself a member of a family farming business, said: “Welsh Conservatives would stand up for the farming industry and the rural communities around it.

“Assessing the impact of government policies shouldn’t be done by the same civil servants who draw it up. That responsibility should lie with the people who know best – rural communities themselves.”

Prospective Welsh Conservative Assembly Member, Russell George, said: “That Welsh Labour have relegated Rural Affairs to a junior cabinet post speaks volumes for Labour’s neglect of agriculture and the countryside.

“A Welsh Conservative Government would end this neglect and stand up for rural Wales.”

ONE POLICY: NO AGREEMENT

The Liberal Democrats’ agricultural manifesto launch, on April 11, was a feisty affair – as detailed by our reporter Matthew Bearne elsewhere in these pages. Noticeably, Kirsty Williams, the Welsh LibDem leader did not fight shy of providing her personal opinion on one of the burning issues affecting West Wales’s farmers: Bovine TB. The view of two of west Wales’s councils and both of Wales’main farming unions is crystalline on the point: in short, culling badgers is a necessary part of a combined approach to the control of Bovine TB. Not the only solution, but part of a holistic approach to the issue.

While the validity of statistical evidence and the science deployed by those on either side of the culling debate is likely to remain subjective and views to remain entrenched, there is a marked divide between most farmers and the west Wales councils on the one hand and the immediately past Welsh Government on the other.

But it is a mistake to conflate the debate about the future of Welsh agriculture with a single topic, no matter how passionately argued. A CONNECTED WALES Access to rural broadband is a live issue. A recent public meeting held in Whitland highlighted the gulf between public desire and expectation and the willingness of BT to provide a solution to every household and every business. As more and more of the paperwork that accompanies farming is planned to be completed online, fast and reliable broadband is essential for all farmers and all rural communities.

In addition, as Richard Walker of the FUW recently said: “The revolution in renewable energy, brought about by recognition of the need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, has resulted in the development of new commercially viable sources of renewable energy, such as solar panels, as well as improvements in the efficiency of wind and water power.”

Despite Wales’ being perfectly suited for some forms of renewable energy generation, the percentage of electricity generated in Wales from renewable stands at just 10% – 5% lower than the UK average, and the lowest of all the UK devolved regions.

NFU Cymru’s ambition is for every farm to be able to become a net energy exporter, and in doing so helping contribute towards the Welsh Government’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The FUW has gone a step further and called on the next Welsh Government to seek ‘alternative and innovative ways’ in which funding can be provided in order to develop on-farm energy production and identify those barriers to on-farm energy production which fall within the remit of Welsh Government.

Next week, The Herald will be reporting on one such on-farm project and establishing just how viable it is for farms not only to power the rural economy, but also to provide power to Welsh homes and businesses.

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Farming

£1,000 bursary award available to Pembrokeshire agricultural students

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PEMBROKESHIRE Agricultural Society’s £1,000 Bursary Award is now open for applications from students studying agriculture, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, food technology, forestry or other subjects allied to agriculture.

The Student Bursary Award 2024 is available to students, from Pembrokeshire, who are currently studying or have been accepted to start their studies. They can apply for this financial support to assist with their chosen college or career path.

Last year’s winner of the award was Lottie Wilson from Hayscastle. Lottie was studying agriculture at the University of Nottingham when she applied for the bursary. When she is at home she is a general dairy farm worker as well as a lambing hand and a calving beef herd assistant. In 2021 she was the top agriculture student at Hartpury College.

Robert James, Chairman of the Society’s Bursary Committee said, “I would urge all Pembrokeshire students who study subjects that are clearly aligned to agriculture to apply for this bursary as it won’t only assist with your studies but will also give you great experiences such as undertaking an interview which is a key employment skill. It will also assist in your future career within the agriculture industry.”

“A panel of independent judges will draw up a short list of candidates who will be interviewed and the winning candidate will be asked to give a short presentation at a future meeting of the society’s show council.

“The standard of applications has always been exceptional which gives a lot of heart that there are a lot of very talented young people in our community. We are very much looking forward to receiving applications for this year’s bursary and hearing from the younger generation.”  

Qualifying students must not have won the student bursary on a previous occasion, the applicant must be studying or has been accepted to study agriculture or allied subjects at a UK college or university at A-Level or higher and the applicant’s family home must be in Pembrokeshire.

The bursary is tax free and will be awarded to the student who, in the opinion of the panel of judges, has submitted the best dissertation on how the bursary will assist them to complete their course of study.

Further details and the entry form can be found online: Student Bursary Award | Pembrokeshire County Show | Pembs Agricultural Society (pembsshow.org)  or by calling the show office: 01437 764331. The closing date for applications is noon on Monday, 1 July 2024.

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Farming

Farmers who knowingly kept cattle with bovine TB on farm fined

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THREE members of a Pembrokeshire farming family have been sentenced for deliberately swapping cattle ear tags; actions that saw animals with Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) reactors remain on the farm.

Bovine Tuberculosis is a zoonotic infection that can infect many species, including humans and wildlife, though transmission to humans in the UK is very rare as a result of control measures in place across the agricultural and food industries.

The actions of Edward, Charles and Henry Hartt displayed widespread illegality and created an unacceptable and serious risk to animal health.

The Hartts operate a large scale dairy and beef farming enterprise – Messrs EW Hartt & Sons – at Longford Farm, Clynderwen, comprising about 2800 cattle.

The three men were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday, March 4th for offences committed under the Cattle Identification (Wales) Regulations 2007; legislation which underpins cattle management, disease control and traceability systems put in place to ensure the safety of the entire farming industry.

All three defendants had previously pleaded guilty to 12 counts on March 25th, 2022.
The court heard that where higher value cattle had tested positive for TB and would be valued for compensation, poorer quality animals would then be sent for slaughter in its place.

This meant that infected animals were kept on the farm with a significant risk of spreading the disease to other animals and jeopardising the success of the TB eradication programme.

Their retention would undoubtedly allow the disease to persist on farm, slowing the progress of eradication within the herd and the general cattle population and increasing costs to the Welsh Government and taxpayer.

The practice would also have resulted in the slaughter of healthy animals not actually infected with TB.
It was also determined that a portion of farm’s milk would have come from TB reactors that should have been removed, which under food safety legislation was banned from entering the food chain.

Where poorer cattle tested positive, evidence showed that they were substituted at valuation for higher value animals, attracting a higher level of compensation – but with the more valuable animals subsequently retained and the lower value TB reactors sent for slaughter.

Each defendant was fined a total of £24,000 – £2,000 for each count on the indictment.

The sentencing reflected the heightened TB risk of reactors remaining on farm, TB lesions present in cattle and a clear risk that misidentified animals could have entered the food chain.

As well as the significant fine, associated action had been taken against the defendants under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).

This legislation was introduced with the aim of recovering assets, including money, acquired through criminal activity.

The use of POCA is particularly pertinent when it is so manifestly in the public interest to ensure criminal activity is not rewarded.

The criminal benefit arising in connection with the offending would have been derived through a mix of pathways.

This included TB compensation payments, sale of illegal stock, sale of milk from illegally retained stock, as well as the wider benefits gained by the farming enterprise.

The Hartts’ actions enabled a steady and continual expansion of the business, on a stronger financial footing, to the detriment of other farms in a competitive market.

This resulted in confiscation orders of £217,906 against each defendant jointly and severally to reflect the ‘criminal benefit’ associated with the offending.

The court also awarded the Council costs of £94,569.

The case brought by Pembrokeshire County Council followed an in-depth investigation by officers from the Council’s Public Protection Animal Health and Welfare Team, working in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency veterinary officers and other regulatory partners.

The investigation was triggered following the identification of anomalies at the farm in June 2019.

The subsequent investigations were complex and protracted over the remainder of the year, involving a number of inspections and visits, DNA sampling of milking cows, detailed audit and cross-referencing of farm records, ear tag and freeze brand (markings on the animal) checks, post-mortems and blood samples.

In one instance remarked upon by the Judge, the freeze brand of a milking cow was altered.
It was later discovered that her ear tags had been changed twice. DNA testing later proved that the animal should have previously left the farm.

Of 828 animals checked as part of the investigation, 123 had discrepancies in relation to their origin and identity, equivalent to 15% of the stock.

The extent and nature of the tagging issues and deliberate changes in identity dwarfed anything previously encountered by officers, and highly unlikely to be by error or mistake.
It was subsequently discovered that the farming operation had received TB compensation payments at a level far above most other farms.

The farm was one of only two in Wales to have had TB present for over 20 years. Since 2009 the farm had received more than £3 million in compensation payments, more than any other farm in Wales.

The prosecution maintained that the large scale illegality underpinned the foundations of the entire farming enterprise over a considerable period of time.

In December 2019, Food Standards Agency veterinary officers placed a stop on 19 carcases and associated offal/edible co-products from two lots of cattle sent for slaughter by the farm, that were destined for the human food chain.

This was due to irregularities concerning the identification and origin of certain animals and potential food chain implications.

Following the conclusion of the court case, Cllr Michelle Bateman, Cabinet Member for Housing Operations and Regulatory Services, welcomed the level of sentence.

She said: “This case will have resulted in unnecessary cost and a drain on resources for those involved in the TB eradication programme, including the major use of public money by Welsh Government who fund the implementation of the compensation scheme.
“It also greatly risks the health of neighbouring herds through unnecessary contamination of the environment as well as damaging the farming industry and public confidence in the safety of milk and meat.
“I congratulate our Council officers and all agencies in bringing this case successfully to court. I hope that this action and sentence will send a message that this sort of illegal behaviour will not be tolerated.”

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Farming

Kurtz leads farming protest on the Senedd’s steps

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LOCAL Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz helped lead the largest protest in the history of the Senedd, as thousands of farmers and those from rural Wales descended on Cardiff Bay.

As unrest has grown in farming circles following the publication of the Welsh Labour Government’s consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), focus has also been drawn on the failing Bovine TB eradication strategy and the all-Wales Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZs).

These three policies, which are directly the responsibility of the Welsh Labour Government, have caused untold stress, frustration and anger in rural Wales, as hundreds from West Wales made the journey in protest.

A Welsh Labour Government commissioned economic assessment showed that the SFS could see 5,500 jobs lost in rural Wales, with an economic hit of over £199 million.  

Samuel Kurtz, the Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, and Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, who has long stood against the Welsh Labour Government’s failures, spoke to the protestors from the steps of the Senedd.

Speaking to the protest, Samuel stressed the importance of the rural community, and how the current policies risk both the current and future generations who live in rural Wales.

Following the protest, Samuel added:

“Speaking at the protest outside the Senedd was one of the proudest moments of my life, both as a politician and as a farmer’s son. But it is a sorry state that the Welsh Labour Government have let it get this far.

“The momentum is with the industry now and whomever becomes Wales’ next First Minister, and next Rural Affairs Minister, must work hard on the SFS, NVZs, and Bovine Tb, to repair a broken relationship between government and the agricultural sector.

“Can I thank all those who attended the protest for the respect and order that they showed. It was the largest of its kind and if the message hasn’t got through to the Welsh Government now, I’m not sure it ever will.”

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