Farming

Cultivating votes: Farming and the election

Published

11 years ago

May 12, 2015

Farmers can have an influence on election: A close eye on political developments.

THE ELECTION on May 7 is widely touted as being one of the closest of recent times. Away from the photo opportunities and soundbites, farmers around the UK are keeping a close eye on political developments.

Both the FUW and the NFU have made no bones that they are looking towards central government to support farming and the wider agricultural industry. With votes precious, the question is how far political parties are prepared to bend their policies to meet farmers’ expectations. While votes in the shires of England tend to aggregate towards the Conservatives, the picture in Wales is rather more complex.

For a start, there are more small independent farms per head of population than there are in England and income from agriculture and food production make up a larger part of Wales’ own domestic product.

When one focuses on the commitments of the larger parties in Wales, there is little meat in any of the manifestos, which focus on large picture macro-economic concerns rather than practical proposals to improve the lot of farmers and agricultural workers and farming communities in the short to medium term.

The Conservative manifesto has promised a lot for the longer term:

25 year growth plan for food industry
Commitment to 25 year TB strategy (including culling)
5 year tax averaging
Single farm inspection taskforce to co-ordinate visits, including Red Tractor
Treble food, farming and Agri-tech apprenticeships
Great British Food Unit to promote British exports
Push for Country of Origin Labelling for dairy in Europe

The long term is all very well, but at a time when farming incomes for family farms are being squeezed tighter than ever, most farmers will be most interested in the here and now. Farmers need certainty about their income and about the support they can expect from government now and tomorrow and not in the sweet bye and bye.

The Conservatives have promised to deliver in 2017 a referendum on whether Britain should stay in or stay out of the European Union. What they have not said is what they will do to help farmers replace European funding payments, upon which many farmers rely, if, in 2017, the British people choose to leave the EU. In addition, the Conservatives have not said how British farmers will be able to continue to access European markets for their produce if tariffs on imports to the EU from the UK follow, as they surely would.

The Labour Party has a significant problem with rural and farming affairs. From being an industry that commanded a seat at the centre of Cabinet discussions, farming was side-lined during the last Labour Government and there is no dedicated minister for agriculture and rural affairs in the Cabinet on the Bay.

Lingering resentment exists in some parts of the Welsh countryside over the ban on hunting with dogs, particularly on upland farms where predation by foxes is a particular problem. There also remains considerable disquiet at the way the Welsh Labour government caved in to those protesting against badger culls. In both cases, it seemed to most farmers that Labour was more interested in appeasing voters who had perhaps a more rosy view of Reynard the Fox and Brock the Badger than most farmers experience in their daily lives.

So, where Labour has a policy at all on agriculture, it is more concerned with issues at the end of the food-delivery process than those issues at source level. Labour’s manifesto commitments on agriculture (in the broader sense) are:

End the badger cull pilots
Expand the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator
Ban zero-hours contracts – workers have right to permanent contract after 12 weeks
Long-term food strategy
Maximum-permitted levels of sugar, salt and fat in food marketed to children
Broadband rollout

In times past, the old Liberal Party was the last redoubt of Welsh farmers. Broadly put, large landowners backed the Tories, farmers and rural communities tended to back the Liberals. The splintering of old ties is, however, likely to see the Liberal Democrat vote across large parts of Wales shrink significantly: while Mark Williams seems likely to hold Ceredigion, Brecon and Radnor is on a knife’s edge. With the Liberal Democrats looking to be coalition partners with any new government, its ability deliver manifesto commitments is necessarily limited, but it is likely that promises to review policies rather than put forward specific measures of their own would make them relatively easy to slot back in to either of the main party’s farming commitments.

Plaid Cymru’s pitch is, perhaps, predictably to wish a plague on both the houses of the Conservative and Labour parties, with Carmarthen East & Dinefwr candidate Jonathan Edwards claiming that: “Plaid Cymru is the champion of rural Wales. We are the only party that has a strong record of standing up for farmers and rural businesses, and opposing the establishment parties’ threats to the EU funding that the sector depends on.”

Community

Celebrating nature recovery through Cysylltu Natur 25×25

Published

2 days ago

February 4, 2026

Richard Lewis

A CELEBRATION event was held on Saturday, January 24 in Cwm Gwaun to mark the achievements of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Cysylltu Natur 25×25 project, bringing together volunteers, farmers and staff involved in delivering nature restoration across North Pembrokeshire.

The landscape-scale project was funded by the Welsh Government through the Nature Networks Programme, delivered by the Heritage Fund. The Programme aims to strengthen ecological connectivity and resilience by restoring habitats at scale.

Those attending the event heard about the wide range of conservation activity delivered through the project across the north of the National Park. This has included practical works to restore grazing to Rhos pasture to benefit marsh fritillary butterflies and southern damselflies, specialist work to conserve rare lichens, volunteer chough, dormouse and harvest mouse monitoring, safeguarding greater horseshoe bat hibernation sites, and targeted action to tackle invasive species threatening important sites.

Volunteers, farmers, land managers and contractors played a vital role in the success of the project, contributing local knowledge, practical skills and ongoing commitment to caring for Pembrokeshire’s unique landscapes and wildlife in the long term.

Mary Chadwick, Conservation Officer for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said: “Cysylltu Natur 25×25 has shown what can be achieved when farmers, volunteers and conservation specialists work together with a shared aim.

“From monitoring some of our most elusive species to restoring and protecting habitats, the dedication of everyone involved has made a real difference for nature across the National Park.”

Although the Cysylltu Natur 25×25 project is now coming to an end, the important work it has supported will continue. Building on its successes, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority will carry this momentum forward through the next phase of nature recovery work under NNF4 Cysylltiadau Naturiol / Naturally Connected, ensuring ongoing protection and enhancement of habitats for future generations.

Farming

Judicial review granted for hundreds of farmers and landowners in Wales

Published

1 week ago

January 28, 2026

Tom Sinclair

OVER three hundred Welsh farmers and landowners have been granted the right to legally challenge Green GEN Cymru’s ‘unlawful behaviour’ at the High Court.

The collective filed a judicial review application on behalf of the community groups, Justice for Wales and CPRW, on four separate grounds, including claims that the energy company has acted unlawfully and with disregard for biosecurity and the environment, while trying to gain access to private land to conduct surveys for three major overhead pylon routes.

The proposal will see the energy infrastructure and pylons spanning 200 km across Powys, Ceredigion, Carmarthen, and Montgomeryshire in Wales and across the Welsh border into Shropshire, in the West Midlands of England.

Mrs Justice Jefford granted permission on four grounds – including abuse of power and procedural impropriety – during the three-and-a-half-hour hearing at Cardiff Civil Justice Centre on Tuesday, January 20.

A two-day hearing is expected to take place in April 2026, date to be confirmed.

The judge also accepted an undertaking from Green GEN Cymru that it would not enter land using s.172 powers – the right given to acquiring authorities to enter land to conduct surveys or valuations under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 – until an urgent interim relief application hearing can be held.

Natalie Barstow, founder of Justice for Wales, said: “This is a moment of vindication. For months, we have been left feeling unsafe in our own homes and stripped of our power as farmers and landowners.

“This is not a protest against renewable energy; this is about standing up for what is right. Our right to dignity and to have a voice, and for the future of our land, wildlife, and livelihoods.

“Since we began this battle, hundreds of other farmers and landowners across Wales have come forward with similar stories, and we’ve been supported by many generous donations to fund the legal challenge. We knew we weren’t alone in our concerns, but the response demonstrates it is a far wider issue than we initially feared, and why it is so important that Green GEN’s conduct and protocols are properly scrutinised.

“We said we will not be bullied into submission, and this judgment is just the first foot forward in our fight for justice.”

Mary Smith, a lawyer at New South Law, the law firm representing the impacted communities, said: “Holding acquiring authority status does not entitle a company to disregard the limits of its statutory powers or the rights of the people affected.

“The Court’s decision confirms that Green GEN Cymru must be held to the same legal standards as any other public body when exercising intrusive powers over private land. This case is about restoring fairness, accountability, and respect for the communities whose livelihoods and environments are at stake.”

Farming

New rules to make Welsh lamb pricing clearer set to begin next week

Published

2 weeks ago

January 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Mandatory carcass grading and price reporting will be required in slaughterhouses from Wednesday, January 28

WELSH sheep farmers are set to see new rules introduced next week aimed at making the lamb market fairer and more transparent.

From Wednesday (Jan 28), slaughterhouses in Wales will be required to classify sheep carcasses and report prices using a standardised system. The Welsh Government says the move will improve consistency in grading, make price information easier to compare, and help build confidence for farmers selling stock.

Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies announced the change during the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) Farmhouse Breakfast event at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff.

He said the measures would support the industry by ensuring a consistent methodology for classifying carcasses in slaughterhouses, promoting transparency, fairness and productivity within the sheep market.

“Our iconic Welsh lamb is celebrated around the world for its outstanding quality and high production standards,” he said. “These measures will implement a consistent methodology for classifying sheep carcasses in slaughterhouses, promoting transparency, fairness, and increased productivity within the sheep market.”

The regulations bring the sheep sector into line with rules already used for beef and pork.

Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales chief executive José Peralta said the changes would allow for greater data capture and analysis and improve transparency within the supply chain.

He said: “The new regulations, which now align with a similar position for cattle and pigs, will allow for greater data capture and analysis to be undertaken and support increased transparency within the sector. As a sector we must seek all opportunities for greater transparency within the supply chain to ensure that choices can be made from an informed position.”

The Welsh Government says the new approach is part of a wider UK framework, with similar arrangements already operating elsewhere.

During his address, the Deputy First Minister also pointed to further changes expected in 2026, including the planned introduction of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which the Welsh Government describes as a new partnership between the people of Wales and farmers.

The scheme is intended to support the sustainable production of food while also responding to the climate and nature emergency.

The Welsh Government has also confirmed its commitment to financial support during the transition, with up to £238 million committed to the Universal layer and the legacy Basic Payment Scheme in 2026.

Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: “I would like to reiterate the Welsh Government’s commitment to supporting Welsh family farms, not just in the short term but also in the long run. Our goal is to prioritise stability for the farming industry, ensuring to balance this with sustainability at its very core.”

He added that supporting farmers through the change would be a priority, with consistent advice and support offered across the sector.

Building fairness within the agricultural supply chain remains a key Welsh Government priority, which it says is also integral to food security.