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Farming

FUW puts spotlight on rural economy

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FUWHOW MANY businesses are involved in the running of a farm and how many people are directly and indirectly employed by the agricultural sector?

How reliant is the rural community really on farming? Those were the questions the Farmers’ Union of Wales asked recently.

We often think about the obvious options, such as feed merchants, sales and auctioneers businesses, farm contractors etc. but how much does just one farm really contribute?

To try and answer these questions Mid Wales farmers John Yeomans, his wife Sarah and son Joe, recently hosted an event that put the spotlight on the importance of agriculture in the rural economy, at their farm Llwyn y Brain, Adfa, near Newtown.

A survey of the businesses that the Yeomans family deal with revealed 2,347 jobs at local and Welsh level and also 225,980 at a wider national level were dependent on the survival of those businesses.

On the farm, the Yeomans family run a herd of 73 cows consisting of pedigree Limousin, Limousin x, Belgian Blue x, and 15 homebred replacement heifers (closed herd).

They further keep 495 ewes which are mainly Beulah and 160 Beulah ewe lambs and the flock has been closed since 1981.

The couple sell Beulah draft ewes and some yearlings, as well as Welsh Mule ewe lambs for breeding and sell finished lambs on a deadweight basis

The 232 acres of owned farmland sit between 750 feet to 1420 above sea level, with 100 acres (34.8ha) of lower land and 132 acres (53.4ha) of largely improved hill land.

A further 53 acres of additional land is rented.

John, who was keen to explore the wider economic impact his business has on the wider rural economy, said: “Following the downturn in agriculture over recent times and across almost all sectors, I wanted to help highlight the importance of a thriving agricultural sector on the economy – both locally and much further afield.

“Farmers are an exceptional conduit for money, so if their businesses are thriving they reinvest and this, in turn, brings wealth and good fortune to others.

“The difficult times we are facing are clearly already impacting on our ancillary and support industries and businesses.

“With this in mind, we were pleased to put the spotlight on all the businesses – both local and further afield – that have some stake in our survival. Our relationship with these businesses is symbiotic and crucial to both our successes.”

BUSINESSES

ANSWER THE CALL

The event was attended by an array of local businesses and representatives such as Agri-Advisor, Agrimin, Bibby’s, Alpha Plumbers, FUW Insurance Services Ltd., E W Bumford & Co, RVW Pugh Ltd, I Jerman, Binding Tyre Services, Countrywide, Westflight, Morris Marshall and Poole, British Wool Marketing Board, Wynnstay, R G and G R Francis, McCartneys, OPICO, Sainsbury’s, Genus, KiwiKit, Dunbia, E George & Son, Dow AgroSciences, Trefaldwyn Vets, Zoetis, Shearwell Data and HSBC, who play a role in John and Sarah’s daily business routine.

Mr Yeomans said: “I must thank the businesses who came to support the event and those that responded to our short survey for the valuable contribution they make to our business and the wider rural economy.

“Supermarkets and slaughterhouses are just as important in our business as our local garage.

“Over 22% of the employment in Wales is linked to farming or food in some way, so it is worth noting the important role we all play in keeping our economic powerhouse going.

“Individually we may not be making a fortune for our solicitor, bank, garage or anything else. But together we are an important force.

“We hope days like this will help to get the message across about the connection between British food and the many businesses connected to it, why it is worth supporting your local farmer and how much of a difference each individual can make in terms of giving back to the local economy.”

THE ELECTRICAL WHOLESALER

City Electrical Factors (CEF) are one of the businesses the Yeomans family trade with. C.E.F. are a national Electrical Wholesaler supplying businesses the length and breadth of the UK.

The Newtown and Welshpool branches sit in the heart of Mid-Wales and as such are two of the most rural branches in the C.E.F. network.

Across these two branches the company employs 11 staff, and nationally they employ about 2750 members of staff.

Darryl Owen, manager of the two branches, said: “I feel it’s very important to employ local people to serve local people. Many of my staff have strong links to the local agricultural and Farming community.

“For us, in such a rural area, any downturn in agriculture has a serious knock on effect to our business and turnover in Newtown and Welshpool.

“It is not just the direct effect from farming businesses but indirectly through the Electrical Contractors who serve this market sector. We service a very wide and diverse market sector which can all be affected by any downturn in the Farming community.

“Many small industries in Mid- Wales are reliant on a strong agricultural customer base. If these small business begin to struggle they stop spending and that’s a big issue for us.

“The on-going success of C.E.F. in Mid-Wales is undoubtedly linked to the success of our agricultural community. Any effort or campaign that will highlight the importance of a healthy rural economy will definitely have my support.”

MACHINERY SALES

RVW Pugh Ltd, an agricultural machinery dealership that specialise in the sales and aftersales of tractors and farm machinery to the agricultural industry, have their head office in Mellington, Mid Wales.

They have two further depots in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire and Market Drayton, Shropshire.

The company employs 54 employees over the three depots, with 35 of them employed at the head office in Mellington.

Robert Pugh, Managing Director, said: “Agriculture is the backbone of our business, more than 95% of our customers are farmers/contractors. We are obviously feeling the knock on effect of farmers struggling with commodity and produce prices, along with late receipt of single farm payments… at the moment we are owed £1.5m from creditors which fall outside of our 30 day credit terms.

“This obviously puts pressure on our business and holds up cash flow which we could use to further improve and invest in our business during these difficult times.”

AGRICULTURE THE

WELSH POWERHOUSE

Glyn Roberts, FUW President, who attended the event, said: “All the businesses that make the wheel of our rural economy go round have an important role to play in our daily lives and indeed how we all survive and make a living.

“We know that a lot of second and third sector businesses are already struggling as a result of the knock on impact of low agricultural incomes and farmgate prices, and the potential wider impact if there was to be a further downturn in farm incomes could be catastrophic.

“We must remember that agriculture is the powerhouse of the rural economy, generates billions of pounds which benefit a host of industries including many not directly associated with agriculture – something that is clear to see here – today-.

“The impact of the most recent recession on our economy as a whole has been severe, but there can be no doubt that in rural Britain and many of our urban areas the impact has been buffered by the core role agriculture has played in generating income for communities the length and breadth of the UK.

“With this in mind – we as the Farmers’ Union of Wales – will continue to represent and fight for those who make a living off the land and through that, support those second and third sector industries- as we have done since 1955 – in Cardiff, London and Brussels.”

FUW Montgomeryshire County Chairman, Mark Williams, added: “We were keen to explore in more detail how our rural economic powerhouse is sustained by individual farm businesses.

“You’ve got your farm and the people who might be employed on it, whether that is family or external contractors, but it is also about the feed merchants, contractors, machinery dealers, local garages, supermarkets, farm shops, auctioneers, banks and solicitors– all of the businesses that are involved either in a direct or indirect capacity.

“The message going back to consumers across the UK has to be ‘Support your local farmer – Support a thriving rural economy’.”

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Farming

Welsh Government could overturn Ceredigion cattle breeder’s house plans

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A CEREDIGION councillor-backed scheme by one of the top breeders of Limousin cattle in the UK to build a home near Lampeter could be overturned following a call for it to be decided by Welsh Government, planners heard.

At the October meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development management committee, the application, by Mr and Mrs Dylan Davies for a four-bedroom rural enterprise workers’ dwelling at Blaenffynnon, Llanwnnen, Lampeter, where they run a calving and cattle rearing business, was backed despite an officer recommendation for refusal.

One of the issues in the report for members was the financial test of whether the scheme was affordable, based on an estimate the building would cost some £292,000 to construct; at a 25-year mortgage amounting to £20,400 a year.

The size of the proposed building – which the applicants say include a need to entertain and occasionally accommodate clients – was also given as a reason for failing the TAN6 policy test, being larger than affordable housing guidance, at 202 square metres rather than a maximum of 136.

Members have previously heard the applicant breeds high-value show cattle for embryo transplanting at the well-established business, with one bull alone selling for £32,000 last year.

It had previously been recommended for refusal at the September meeting, but was deferred for a ‘cooling-off’ period to seek further details along with potential changes to the size of the scheme.

At the October meeting, members backed approval despite officers saying the size proposed could actually include a two-person bungalow in addition to the normal maximal ‘affordable’ size.

At the start of the November meeting, members heard a request for the scheme to be ‘called-in’ for Welsh Government final decision had been made, meaning Ceredigion planners’ approval could potentially be overturned if the ‘call-in’ is agreed.

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Farming

Welsh Government pressed on impact of new farming tax

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THE Welsh Government have been urged to clarify how many farms in Wales will be affected by the Family Farm Tax.

The calls come after farming unions rebuked claims from the UK Labour Government and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens that only a minority of farmers will be affected by the new inheritance tax rules.

The UK Labour Government has come under heavy criticism following the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves that farmers would have to pay a 20% tax on farms worth more than £1m.

When questioned on Sunday Politics about the potential impact of the new tax laws on Welsh Farmers, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens claimed that “Three quarters of farmers will be unaffected”.

The treasury has yet to publish an estimate around the impact that the new tax laws will have on Welsh farms.

Both the FUW and NFU Cymru have expressed their concerns at the changes made by the UK Government, stating that it will cause “lasting damage to Welsh farming.”

The Welsh Lib Dems have now called on the Welsh Government to clarify how many farms in Wales will be impacted by the new Family Farm Tax rules.

Party leader Jane Dodds MS has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca-Davies to express her concern over the “untold damage that farming communities throughout Wales will face as a consequence of the UK Government’s most recent budget”.

In the same letter, Jane Dodds MS pressed Mr Irranca-Davies to confirm how many Welsh farms will be affected by the new inheritance laws.

“We cannot afford to leave our farming communities in the dark when it comes to the impact of this potentially devasting new tax law” said Jane Dodds MS.

Both our farmers and the Welsh Public deserve to know the truth that lies behind Labour’s claims that only a small amount of farmers will be impacted by the Family Farm Tax. Claims that, I should add, have already been disputed by both NFU Cymru and the FUW.

The uncertainty surrounding these new inheritance laws will place more unnecessary pressure on farmers across Wales, many of whom are already struggling under a cloud of financial pressures.”

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Farming

Pembrokeshire farmer’s award for outstanding service to Welsh dairy industry

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DAIRY farmer, Stephen James, from Gelliolau farm in Clunderwen, Pemborkeshire has been presented the FUW Outstanding Service to the Welsh Dairy Industry award at the Welsh Dairy Show 2024 in Carmarthen.

Presenting Stephen with the award will be FUW President Ian Rickman during the Welsh Dairy Show held at the United Counties Showground in Nantyci, Carmarthen on Tuesday 22 October 2024.

Ian Rickman, FUW President said: “The judging panel were delighted with the nominations this year, but Stephen’s diligent and relentless work for over 20 years representing the industry in a public role on the issue of Bovine TB in particular placed him on top.

“A worthy winner, Stephen has used his own experience of dealing with TB on his own farm business, having been in and out of restrictions for over a quarter of a century, to highlight the main issues that affect Welsh farmers, publicly.”

Stephen is Chairman of the Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework a position he has held since July 2018. As Chairman, working closely with Wales’ Chief Veterinary Officer, Stephen works to make improvements in standards of animal health and welfare across Wales.

He has also been a leading figure in representing the concerns of Welsh farming to the Government. As an industry representative on the Welsh Government TB programme board, he has undertaken countless bilingual media interviews to local, national and international broadcasters. He highlights the impact the disease has on farming families and the need for the Welsh Government to implement a Comprehensive TB Eradication Strategy.

On winning the award, Stephen James said: “Receiving this award is a huge privilege. It was quite a shock to hear the news. I am extremely grateful to receive the award, especially at an event that is so close to my heart and is so important to the milk sector in Wales. Thank you so much for the honour.”

Stephen James has held a wide range of positions within NFU Cymru from Local Branch Chairman to President (2014 – 2018). He has worked on a number of significant policy areas including the Common Agricultural Policy Reform and Brexit, dairy issues and an influential figure during the trying times of the 2012 milk crisis. Stephen, alongside other UK farming union leaders, addressed the July 2012 dairy farmers Westminster Hall Rally.

Passionate about supporting the next generation of farmers, Stephen shared the responsibility for his farm business at Gelliolau to his son, Daniel, at a young age. He has been heavily involved with the Wales Young Farmers, both locally and nationally holding a number of positions including Pembrokeshire County Chairman, Pembrokeshire County President and Wales YFC Council member.

A long standing member of First Milk and a Director and past Chairman of Clynderwen and Cardiganshire Farmers, he truly believes in the values and principles of co-operative organisations.

He is former President of the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society, a President and active Board Member of Clunderwen Show Society, a past Chair of Clunderwen Community Council and member and past Chairman of Narberth Grassland Society. Stephen James is also a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies.

Ian Rickman concluded: “Stephen James has truly made an outstanding contribution to the Welsh Dairy Industry. We are delighted to present him with this FUW award in recognition of the years of work he has carried out on behalf of Welsh farmers. On behalf of the FUW, I congratulate and thank Stephen for his work.”

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