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Farming

Dairy report will inform farming policy

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Preparing for the future: Report shows profitable dairy farming possible

THE WELSH G​OVERNMENT​ says that a new report into the Welsh dairy industry will help farmers improve the performance and resilience of their businesses and prepare for the future post Brexit.

In 2017, the Welsh Government provided £3.2 million of European conditional aid to Welsh dairy farmers through two schemes focusing on farm business benchmarking and herd milk recording.

An encouraging 75% of dairy farmers took up the opportunity – the highest level of uptake in the UK. Along with aid funding, farmers also received a bespoke report showing the strengths and weaknesses of their business with a comparison with other dairy farms.

KEY FINDINGS

Invaluable data produced from the benchmarking scheme was used to produce a providing a snapshot of Welsh dairy farm performance. Key findings include:

The importance of farmers constantly measuring the financial performance of their business to help them become more efficient;

the top performing farms demonstrate that profitable dairy farming is possible with excellent returns, even in difficult trading conditions;

some farms, have costs of production which are higher than the milk price has ever reached;

farmers should take advantage of the plentiful supply of grass and maximise the milk they produce from grass and forage;

farmers who have made a conscious choice about their production system tend to be more profitable; and
maintaining high standards of animal health and welfare reduced the financial impact of diseases and can give the industry a competitive advantage.

SUPPORT TO BE TAILORED

Support to help dairy farmers address the issues identified in the report is available through the Welsh Government’s Farming Connect programme and via the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Dairy.

Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths said: “The approach we adopted to providing aid to our dairy farmers has provided us with useful data on the performance of the industry in Wales.

“The report published today will go a long way to help farmers improve the performance of their business by reducing their costs of production. This will improve the efficiency of our dairy farms, allowing them to become more resilient to business risks and milk price volatility.

“As a government, our priority is to work with everyone affected to prepare for a world outside the European Union and for a resilient agricultural sector. This report will provide invaluable information to help us decide how best to support the dairy sector to prepare for the future.

“While the report shows profitable dairy farming is possible, I am particularly concerned that some Welsh dairy farms have costs of production which are higher than the milk price has ever reached. That is why I am in the process of tailoring the support we offer these farms to help them re-evaluate the structure of their business and use their benchmarking report to see where improvements can be made.

“It is clear from the report that by becoming more efficient and focusing on producing milk at a lower cost of production, all farms can become more profitable, no matter what the milk price is.

“Brexit presents significant challenges to the agriculture industry but also opportunities. The industry, and individual farmers, must start to plan now for the future.

“The long term outlook for the dairy sector is good with global demand forecasted to increase year on year. Our dairy farmers need to be competitive and market focused to compete with the best in the world. If this happens then I firmly believe our dairy farmers have a bright future.

“I encourage all Welsh dairy farmers and the wider industry to use the available data to help them prepare for the post Brexit world; to help make their businesses both resilient and prosperous.”

NFU WELCOMES REPORT

NFU Cymru has welcomed the publication of report.

Gareth Richards NFU Cymru Milk Board Chairman and dairy farmer from Carmarthenshire said: “Milk production is a major contributor to the gross output of Welsh agriculture. This report shows the vulnerability and volatility of the sector but also highlights opportunities available to individual producers and to the sector as a whole in Wales.

“Through the production of individual reports for contributors this has enabled farming businesses to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their business by benchmarking against others.

“As the Cabinet Secretary, Lesley Griffiths, has said, tailored packages are now available for individual producers to move their business on and future proof them for the potential massive changes Brexit will bring. I would encourage all 1,700 milk producers in Wales to make use of services that AHDB Dairy and Farming Connect can offer both on an individual farm level and in participative group activity.”

NFU Cymru Deputy President Aled Jones said: “The data captured as part of this EU conditional aid scheme is invaluable not just for farmers to help them identify where to target performance improvements on farm, but also for policy makers to help design and implement policies that ensure we can achieve our vision of a productive, progressive and profitable industry in Wales.

“The opportunity to collect data that Welsh Government requires to meet climate change and environmental obligations is also invaluable and this project provides a baseline against which to measure future progress.

“As part of a comprehensive post-Brexit agriculture policy for Wales, NFU Cymru believes the incentivised collection of key performance data should be an integral part of a new policy based around our three cornerstones of productivity, environment and volatility measures. Collection of key data around production, farm structure, financial, environmental and Greenhouse gas emissions can help inform decision making at farm and national policy level. The data collected can also help underpin the credentials of ‘Brand Wales’, a concept based on providing Wales with a unique selling point to market the full range of goods and services provided by Welsh farming.
“We hope the success of this scheme can now be built upon and replicated not just for the dairy sector but also to all the key farming sectors in Wales.”

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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