Farming
Glyphosate crisis continues


Farmers wait: On pesticide decision
THOUGH THE EU Commission has announced that it will be attempting to secure an 18 month relicensing approval for glyphosate – the world’s most widely used herbicide which is currently mired in controversy over its possible health impacts – member state ministers who rejected previous licensing proposals from the Commission have stuck to their guns ahead of a planned vote.
Responding to the Commission’s proposed temporary relicensing – pending the findings of a report the EU executive has commissioned from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – French environment minister Segolene Royal said France will not change its mind on glyphosate and will not vote in support of the Commission’s proposal.
Germany’s environment ministry has also confirmed on Twitter that it won’t alter its stance next week. Due to the different positions on glyphosate held by Germany’s environment and agriculture departments (controlled by two different political parties making up the country’s coalition government), officials have said Germany will abstain in any glyphosate vote.
COMMISSION’S PROPOSALS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’
Ministers from Sweden, Italy Portugal and Austria have all expressed opposition to the Commission’s past proposals, backing the published opinion of the World Health Organisation’s cancer research arm IARC on glyphosate; last year, IARC classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen, though a subsequent review by EU health watchdog EFSA reached the opposite conclusion, sparking a spat between high ranking scientists from the two agencies.
On Wednesday, Green MEPs in the European Parliament reacted to EFSA’s proposal to make scientific papers which influenced its decision on glyphosate – but were not available to IARC, which operates to strict transparency guidelines – available in a private reading room, which was set up to use for viewing sensitive documents relating to TTIP (the trade deal being brokered between the EU and United States) and tax.
EFSA’s suggestion was made in response to a freedom of information request submitted by four MEPs. The Greens’ spokesperson on the issue, MEP Heidi Hautala, commented: “this culture of radically limited transparency, whereby MEPs can only access a secret room without their phones, laptops and sometimes even pens or paper, should only be applied in extreme cases, and should not be used in response to public access to documents requests”.
The current approval period for glyphosate is set to expire at the end of June. In April, the European Parliament voted to approve a shorter relicensing of glyphosate, but with heavy restrictions on its use – including bans on use in public parks, restricting sales to professionals only and preventing pre-harvest use of glyphosate as a desiccant.
In its latest, temporary proposal the Commission recommends minimising these practices, but does not commit to an outright ban.
NO BACKING DOWN
Commenting on the temporary renewal plan on Wednesday, EU Greens’ environment and food safety spokesperson Bart Staes stated: “This proposal for a ‘technical extension’ has to be seen as the Commission backing down, after its failure to bulldoze through the re-approval of glyphosate following heavy industry lobbying.
“While it means an eleventh hour reprieve for glyphosate, this is hopefully only temporary and this should be the beginning of the end for this toxic product.”
The NFU has revealed that its vice president Guy Smith has met with EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, who tabled the Commission proposal on Wednesday.
Speaking after a second vote on glyphosate was delayed last month, Mr Smith said: “I am nothing short of exasperated as to why this key herbicide cannot simply and quickly be given the reauthorisation that has been recommended by EFSA – the appropriate EU scientific body.
“Some member states in the committee are prevaricating and wasting time when they could be taking decisions based on scientific evidence. Glyphosate is a pesticide which allows farmers to combat weeds while supporting cultivation methods that can preserve good soil structure. There is no sense behind this delay.”
SHOULD HAVE BEEN BANNED ALREADY
Green MEP Bart Staes added, “The EU will now have to finalise its assessment of the health risks with glyphosate, both as regards it being a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor. However, glyphosate’s devastating impact on biodiversity should have already led to its ban.
“The significant public mobilisation and political opposition to reapproving glyphosate has been taken seriously by key EU governments and the Commission has been sent back with its tail between its legs.”
He continued: “The whole controversy surrounding the re-approval of glyphosate has revitalised the debate about Europe’s agricultural model and the dependence on toxic substances in the current system.
“This is already starting to filter through the policy-making process, with the Dutch EU presidency having flagged up the debate this week. This opportunity now needs to be seized [in] fundamentally reorienting the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy towards a more sustainable agricultural model.”
FARMERS ASKED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
In an open letter to EU policymakers and officials on June 3, the NFU wrote: ‘The removal of such a tool carries the very real risk of yet another pressure on our incomes at a time when economic returns are already severely squeezed.
The arable sector will likely be hardest hit through any restrictions, with direct impacts on yields.
‘Loss of availability in the livestock and dairy sectors would result in an inability to tackle invasive and poisonous species in grassland and plant pests and diseases across all farm types.
These effects would directly hit farmers’ margins too. Europe would therefore be at a further disadvantage to other nations, who face no such restrictions, but who we are increasingly trading with.
‘Farmers are being asked the impossible. On one hand farmers are encouraged to improve and compete, yet we have tools that allow us to do so directly threatened with no like-for-like alternatives in place.’
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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