Farming
FUW puts spotlight on rural economy

HOW 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’.”
Business
Major development at Hayscastle farm refused by planners

A CALL to allow a Pembrokeshire farm diversification which packages and distributes specialist medical equipment across Europe to relocate to an agricultural building has been turned down by county planners.
In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Mr Van Der Spoel of Castle Villa Farm, Hayscastle, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, sought permission for the relocation and expansion of an existing farm diversification business into an existing agricultural building.
A supporting statement said the applicant, together with his wife and adult daughter ran the farm diversification 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. There are three employees, Mr Van der Speol, his wife and adult daughter who all live at Castle Villa.”
Wolfscastle-based FRIO produces the world’s first patented insulin cooling wallet which keeps insulin and other temperature-sensitive medicines cool and safe.
The supporting statement said the Castle Villa Farm business has now outgrown the site and scope for increasing the building is unviable, and all other buildings at the farm used for agricultural purposes.
It added: “In terms of a functional need for the business to be located at this site, the applicant still farms over 135 acres surrounding the site and 300 sheep. He could be needed at any given moment to tend to these sheep, especially during lambing season. Therefore, having the site just a seven-minute walk away is vital in ensuring the agricultural use is not lost at Castle Villa.
“Additionally, the products distributed from the site are medical products and therefore, efficiency of getting these products away to purchasers is vital. Losing hours each week commuting would drastically reduce the efficiency of the business and could result in a downturn of business.”
An officer report recommending refusal said a previous retrospective application for a steel-framed storage and distribution building was refused, with a later appeal dismissed, a later application conditionally allowing the building for an agricultural use.
It also said an appeal had been lodged with Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) in early 2024 after an enforcement notice was served, adding an inspector later confirming the only ground upheld was the period for compliance with the notice was too short.
The scheme was refused by county planners on the grounds the development “does not derive its inputs from the land, it is not therefore an enterprise for which a countryside location is essential”.
It added: “In addition, robust evidence has not been provided to demonstrate that the type of activity being undertaken could not be accommodated, or would not be viable, within a nearby settlement or an allocated employment site.
“The development also fails to demonstrate that the scheme operates as a farm diversification. Therefore, it has not been demonstrated that the development is in an appropriate location.”
Business
Petition to save Paternoster Farm hits nearly 2,000

A PETITION calling for a full review and debate of Pembrokeshire’s “not fit for purpose” county farm policy has attracted nearly 2,000 signatures, triggering it being debated by councillors at a future meeting.
The Pembrokeshire County Council e-petition was launched by tenants being forced to leave their council-owned farm which is host to a Good Food Guide accredited restaurant, and attracted 1,822 signatures.
Paternoster Farm near Hundleton, which has a restaurant in the old milking shed, has featured in the Good Food Guide for the last three years.
The restaurant is run by former family solicitor, Michelle Evans, with this year’s Good Food Guide describing Paternoster Farm as ‘earthy and rustic’ with deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendation all described as good, while the restaurant’s uniqueness was rated as very good.
However, the acclaimed business built up over the last four years is now under threat, as the ten-year farm tenancy with Pembrokeshire County Council comes to an end.
In the e-petition to Pembrokeshire County Council, which has now closed, Leum Evans asked: “We call on Pembrokeshire County Council to conduct a full and thorough review of county farm policy.
“We call for a declaration that current county farm policy is not fit for purpose when it fails to encourage diversification in a way that adds value to a farm’s own produce, keeps the produce within the farm, and feeds the local community, when policy fails to support a holding such as Paternoster Farm.
“We call for a motion of no confidence in both county farm policy, and the county farm estate department. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to commission an independent review of farm policy by suitably qualified (independent) third parties.
“We call for a full debate on the future of the county farm estate, and whether its continued existence, in its current form, can even be justified. We call upon Pembrokeshire County Council to commission how Public Procurement Policy could effect a link between county farms, and school meals in the county.”
The petition went on to say: “Current county farm policy has been shown to support neither farm diversification nor integration into the community. This has been illustrated by the recent treatment of the current tenants of Paternoster Farm.
“If county farm policy does not support and encourage our type of farming enterprise, one which farms the holding to its fullest whilst caring for the land, farms regeneratively, provides employment, fosters community links, supports a wealth of local businesses, supports local schools, feeds farm produce to the community every single week of the year, then it cannot possibly be said to be fit for purpose.”
It claims £50m of public money is invested in county farms for 42 tenants, adding: “Is this a fair and equitable distribution of local authority resources when county farm policy does nothing to encourage any benefit to the wider community?”
It finished: “It is all very well to seek to help new entrants into farming, but what are the authority really trying to achieve? Farming for farming’s sake is not enough. The authority has to ask, who will benefit, and to what extent?”
Pembrokeshire County Council has previously said that proposals at Paternoster were in line with council policy, with novice farmers being offered a smaller farm while they get established in the industry before moving on to bigger establishments.
“Pembrokeshire County Council owns a farm estate for the expressed purpose of providing those who wish to farm a way of entering into the industry,” said a council spokesman.
“To fulfil this function, tenancies are not for life but are for a fixed term, to enable tenants to ‘move on’ to larger farm holdings, as these tenants are being offered the opportunity to do.”
The council said that the 10-year lease entered into with Michelle and her family reflected this policy, with them now offered a tenancy at a larger council farm holding.
Anyone who lives, works or studies within the Pembrokeshire County Council area may sign or organise a petition. This includes anyone under the age of 18.
If the petition gets 500 signatures, the creator will have an opportunity to debate it at a full council meeting.
Business
Food processing industry ‘in managed decline’

THE FOOD processing industry in Wales is incredibly depressed about the future, with a fall in livestock numbers placing a question mark over its prospects, witnesses warned.
Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors’ Association, told the Senedd’s rural affairs committee: “My members are incredibly concerned about the direction of travel.
“And it doesn’t just apply to Wales, [it’s] right across the whole country, but I think it’s particularly significant here: the decline in livestock numbers, the projections and, dare I say, the attitude and the desire… in the Welsh Government to actually drive a further reduction.”
Mr Allen said: “Big investors and employers in Wales are incredibly concerned about the future: more than concerned, I’d say incredibly depressed about what the future holds.”
He warned: “Unfortunately, it seems endemic within civil servants that they don’t really want to help industry and work with them. They seem to almost [act] as a police force to stop us doing things rather than thinking ‘this is what’s good for the country’.”
Mr Allen, who has been involved in discussions since the controversial sustainable farming scheme was paused by ministers, suggested the dial has barely moved in the months since. He described ministers’ approach to bluetongue disease as “another nail in the coffin”.
José Peralta, chief executive of Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales, said livestock numbers have dropped significantly and will likely continue to fall.

Giving evidence on June 2, he warned: “That poses a big question mark about how do we carry on in the future with an industry that remains competitive.”
Kepak, a family owned business which runs a beef and lamb processing site in Merthyr Tydfil, employing 1,000 people, raised urgent and grave concerns about livestock numbers.
In its written evidence, the company said: “The efficiency and viability of our operations and the jobs that we provide rely on a critical mass of livestock.”
Asked about the Welsh Government’s 2021 vision for the industry, Mr Peralta said: “It’s a set of very nice and good aims but I struggle to see sometimes what’s underneath that’s going to drive all the different elements to get to that final aim.”
Raising the example of Ireland, he added: “They have conviction, they have ambition and they put money behind it. And those are the three things… we would have to change.”
Andrew RT Davies, who chairs the rural affairs committee which is holding an inquiry on food processing, questioned whether Wales is “chasing a hare we will never catch” amid falls in livestock numbers and a dramatic decline in abattoirs.

The Tory asked: “Or are we just managing the decline of the livestock sector here in Wales?”
John Thorley, chairman of the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, warned changes introduced by the Welsh Government have reduced farmers’ confidence.
“That is, I believe, underlying everything,” he said.
Mr Allen told the committee: “I don’t know whether it’s accidental or deliberate but it feels as though we’re just managing decline. I find it really frustrating.”
Warning many schemes aimed at helping farmers are “totally contrary to what you ought to be doing”, he stressed that Wales has one of the best climates for livestock in the world.
He said: “It seems as though we’re just managing decline and wanting to get rid of it.
“And for what? To my mind, to be brutal about it, it’s a form of nimbyism [not in my back yard]: you’re going to head towards a net zero in Wales, wonderful – but you’re going to be importing a load of meat from the rest of the world.”
Rhun ap Iorwerth, who represents Ynys Môn which has lost two large slaughterhouses, asked whether the abattoir network should be a critical part of national infrastructure.

Mr Allen agreed with the Plaid Cymru leader’s suggestion, saying: “What’s the point in farmers producing livestock if you haven’t got the processing sector?”
Mr Peralta, who runs an abattoir on Anglesey and previously closed another, said: “That was for a single reason, not enough livestock… that is the fundamental issue.
“When you look at it, Wales slaughtered two-and-a-half million sheep last year – compare that to three million just in Anglesey eight-nine-10 years ago.”
Mr Thorley said: “We need more abattoirs. But we also need controls which are appropriate. The controls… at the moment are over the top, far too expensive and don’t actually deliver.”

He added: “I look at it sometimes and I get—disgusted is the wrong word but I find myself feeling ‘what the hell is going on?’. We wanted there to be a government in Wales – it could do such a lot but I don’t see it, I don’t see the evidence.”
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