Farming

FUW’s cautious welcome for Gove speech

Published

8 years ago

February 26, 2018

Michael Gove: Clarity sought following keynote speech

THE FARMERS’ Union of Wales (FUW) has welcomed commitments by Secretary of State Michael Gove to focus on supply chain policies and his acknowledgement of the need for an appropriate balance between devolution and common UK frameworks post Brexit.

Speaking at a National Farmers Union conference in Birmingham, Michael Gove gave a number of commitments to English farmers, while also acknowledging the need for Brexit to be considered in terms of entire supply chains which operate across the UK.

Michael Gove also said: “Leaving the EU requires us to develop new policies on food and farming. For the first time in almost half a century, we are free to design policies from first principles that put British farmers, and consumers, first.”

Responding, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “In light of Brexit, there is an understandable focus on farming, environmental and land use policies, but the FUW has been arguing for entire supply chains to be considered – be it the supply chain for food, carbon, green energy or wildlife.

“Farmers are key links in lengthy supply chains which involve all sorts of industries and deliver a host of public benefits – not least the food which arrives daily on supermarket shelves. We need holistic Government policies which deliver benefits for consumers and fair rewards for farmers, and interventions where there is market failure.”

Mr Roberts said it was therefore welcome that the UK Government has accepted the need to consider entire supply chains, including those which extend across the UK and further afield.

“There has been welcome engagement by UK Governments with farming and environmental bodies over the past eighteen months, but there is concern that government engagement with others along supply chains needs to be stepped up,” he added.

Mr Roberts also welcomed the Secretary of State’s acknowledgement of the need for devolved powers over agriculture to remain firmly in the hands of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – but for there to be a balance between such powers and frameworks which prevent distortions within the UK and wider markets.

“The FUW is an emphatic supporter of devolution, but all mature governments recognise the importance of agreeing frameworks with other nations and countries. The alternative is a free-for-all which distorts markets and leads to inequality between producers which damages relationships and compromises trade.”

Mr Roberts said agreement on such frameworks needed to be reached urgently given the thirteen or so months before the UK left the EU. He therefore welcomed Mr Gove’s assurance that UK Governments were “…working together to ensure there will be UK-wide frameworks on areas of common concern like animal and plant health and no decisions are taken that harm our own internal UK market.”

Responding to the UK Government’s plan to introduce a cap on English farm payments, Mr Roberts said that capping payments had been FUW policy since 2007, and that as a result Welsh payments had been capped under new regulations introduced in 2015.

“However, we have already written to DEFRA minister George Eustice to highlight our concerns that the benefits of capping would be lost if no limit is applied to agri-environmental payments, as large estates and charities would cream off money which would be better spent on family farms,” he added.

“The FUW has made it clear since June 2016 that Wales’ funding should continue at at least current levels, and clarity on this and other matters is essential. England seems to have had these assurances, yet Wales is still in the dark.”

Mr Roberts said the FUW welcomed Mr Gove’s assurance that devolved powers would not be diluted, and that UK Governments were working together on common frameworks, but highlighted the degree to which planning in Wales by both farmers and government was hampered by a lack of certainty.

“With the budget for the 2019 BPS due to be finalised in October this year, there is a real sense of urgency.”

Mr Roberts also highlighted the need for well-meaning policies to be carefully assessed rather than taken at face value.

“Well intentioned policies set out in lengthy sentences must be thoroughly investigated in terms of actual figures and their likely impacts on our farms, rural communities and supply chains,” he said.

Farming

Reform calls for urgent review of farming scheme

Published

15 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Tom Sinclair

LOW UPTAKE HAS RAISED FRESH QUESTIONS OVER THE FUTURE OF SUPPORT FOR WELSH FARMERS

REFORM WALES has called for an urgent review of the Sustainable Farming Scheme after figures showed only around half of eligible farmers have signed up.

The party said the lower-than-expected uptake showed that serious concerns remained within the farming community over the complexity of the scheme, compliance rules and uncertainty about how it will operate in the long term.

Laura Anne Jones MS, Reform Wales’ Shadow Cabinet Minister for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs, raised the issue during questions to the Welsh Government.

She said: “The figures released by the Welsh Government today confirm what many farmers have been saying for some time: the Sustainable Farming Scheme is too complex, too restrictive and too bureaucratic.

“Farmers need certainty and security, not endless paperwork and rigid requirements that fail to reflect the realities of farming in Wales.

“Reform Wales believes the scheme should be reviewed as a matter of urgency, with a greater focus on flexibility, common sense and practical outcomes.

“Welsh farmers deserve a scheme that works with them, not against them.”

The Sustainable Farming Scheme is due to replace previous systems of agricultural support in Wales and has been one of the most contentious issues facing the rural sector.

Farming unions and campaigners have repeatedly warned that any new system must be practical for family farms and must not add unnecessary red tape at a time when many businesses are already under pressure from rising costs, bovine TB and market uncertainty.

Reform Wales said the Welsh Government must now explain how it intends to respond to the level of take-up and whether changes will be made before the scheme is fully rolled out.

Business

Holiday accommodation conversion of historic farm buildings approved

Published

1 day ago

June 13, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to convert historic farm buildings near north Pembrokeshire’s Whitesands beach for use as holiday accommodation have been given the go-ahead, but their use doesn’t have to be restricted to just that purpose.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Matthew James of James Properties, through agent Harries Planning Design Management sought permission for the conversion of two derelict barns to two self-catering holiday accommodation units at Porthmawr Ganol, Whitesands, St Davids.

An officer report said: “The farmstead occupies a prominent position within a landscape characterised by open agricultural fields enclosed predominantly by traditional dry-stone walls, exposed coastal pasture and areas of heathland associated with Carn Llidi.”

It added: “The site lies within the Porthmawr Historic Landscape Character Area, an area recognised for its historic pattern of dispersed settlement, traditional farmsteads, dry-stone wall field boundaries and evidence of medieval and post-medieval agricultural activity.

“The retention and reuse of the existing buildings therefore has the potential to preserve an important element of the area’s historic landscape character whilst securing a viable long-term future for structures that would otherwise continue to deteriorate.”

It said that insufficient evidence had initially been submitted to demonstrate that the buildings were unsuitable for permanent residential conversion and only for self-catering accommodation and therefore an affordable housing contribution should be secured.

Policy would lead to a contribution of £36,400, the report said, but a financial viability assessment by the applicant “demonstrated that the development would not be viable if required to provide the full policy contribution,” the maximum contribution capable of being supported whilst maintaining viability was £12,641.

This reduced figure was accepted, the officer report saying: “Whilst this represents a reduced contribution when compared with the full policy requirement, the submitted viability evidence demonstrates that the development could not reasonably support the full contribution whilst remaining deliverable.

“In these circumstances, securing a reduced contribution is considered preferable to losing the opportunity to secure the restoration and beneficial reuse of the historic buildings.”

It stated that, with the affordable contribution, the scheme would not be limited to self-catering development only.

The application was conditionally approved by Park planners.

Crime

Farmers fined in bovine TB scandal face fresh court action

Published

4 days ago

June 10, 2026

Court Reporter

Hartt family members listed at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court over unpaid penalties linked to major cattle prosecution

TWO PEMBROKESHIRE farmers convicted in a major bovine tuberculosis-related cattle case are due back before the courts this week over unpaid financial penalties.

Henry Hartt, 66, of Ciffig, Whitland, and Edward William Henry Hartt, 48, of Llandewi Velfrey, are both listed to appear at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (June 11).

Court records show both men face proceedings relating to the non-payment of fines of £94,739.64 imposed on March 4, 2024. Separate applications to lodge committal warrants are also listed, relating to unpaid fines of £22,300 and £22,400 respectively.

The pair were among three members of the Hartt family sentenced at Swansea Crown Court in March 2024 following a major prosecution brought by Pembrokeshire County Council involving bovine TB controls.

The court heard that cattle known to have reacted to bovine tuberculosis tests were knowingly kept on-farm, while substitute animals were allegedly presented for slaughter instead.

At the time, Henry Hartt, Edward Hartt and Charles Hartt admitted a total of 12 cattle identification offences connected to Longford Farm, Clynderwen.

The case centred on failures to comply with bovine TB restrictions and cattle tracing rules designed to prevent the spread of the disease.

Each defendant was fined £24,000, while confiscation orders and prosecution costs running into hundreds of thousands of pounds were also imposed.

Thursday’s hearing is expected to deal with enforcement proceedings connected to the unpaid financial orders rather than the original criminal offences.

The Herald will be attending court.