Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

Farming

New European policies ‘must have family farms at heart’

Published

on

ANY NEW policies adoptedfuw by the EU Parliament following yesterday’s elections must ensure they have family farms at their heart, according to Farmers’ Union of Wales president Emyr Jones. 

Speaking on the eve of last weekend’s Royal Welsh Spring Festival, Mr Jones said that between May 22 and 25 people across the EU will elect 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who, alongside the Council of Ministers and the European Commission, will decide policies affecting our daily lives, more so for farmers than any other section of the community. Mr Jones was launching the FUW’s latest campaign “Supporting Family Farms Since 1955” that coincides with this year’s UN International Year of Family Farming which is highlighting the potential family farmers have to eradicate hunger, preserve natural resources and promote sustainable development. He added: “Given the diversity of climates, topography, cultures and economies across the EU, it is no surprise that even the most pro- Europeans can become frustrated with Brussels dictates which make no sense in a region such as Wales, while those bitterly opposed to the EU have a field day blaming all the ills of the world on our membership. “Yet, despite the focus in the UK press on the issue of EU membership and where the balance of powers between Member States and Brussels should lie, reporting of the daily deliberations of the EU Parliament regarding issues which we might support, or bitterly oppose, remains scant at the most. “This leaves members of the general public detached from the politics and policies they so often bemoan, allowing pro and anti-EU politicians to blame the EU whenever it suits their agendas to do so, and Governments to hide their own insatiable appetites for red tape behind the convenient scapegoat of EU Regulations. “With agriculture taking the most significant portion of the European budget, and bearing the brunt of so many disproportionate and costly regulations, Wales’ farmers must consider carefully the implications of all the options now being discussed.” Those options are: to allow the EU to continue on its present course, which many believe will lead to a United States of Europe; to try and restore it to something more akin to the Common Market we voted to remain a part of in 1975; or to pull out altogether, leading to a full restoration of sovereignty but with no guaranteed access to our most important markets and the common agricultural policies which are part and parcel of that access. “The FUW’s current position is simply that we support EU membership – hardly surprising given that successive UK Governments have made it clear that they wish to increase food imports from outside the EU and dismantle the CAP – a policy which provides essential incomes for Welsh farming families and ensures plentiful, safe and affordable food for EU citizens,” said Mr Jones. “And, of course, we need only look back to the 2001 FMD outbreak and the accompanying export ban to see the impact that being closed out of the common market has on prices. “However, Welsh farmers have much to be aggrieved about when it comes to the suffocating and costly bureaucracy that emanates from the EU, and many wish for a return to the halcyon days when food production and common sense took priority over paperwork and illogical rules. “Whatever our views, we must weigh up the implications of all options with our heads as well our hearts. Welsh agriculture and our rural communities currently rely on the CAP and access to EU markets, and those who wish to see us operating outside the EU must provide valid economic assessments and policies which set out how a collapse in rural incomes and food production would be avoided. “We must also be aware that a renegotiation of powers could centre on the renationalisation of agricultural policies, with the focus not on reducing burdensome EU Regulations, but on implementing key recommendations from the 2005 Treasury/Defra ‘Vision for the CAP’ – a blueprint for dismantling agricultural support and increasing food imports. “Again, we need solid proposals and assurances that any renationalisation of powers will not lead to the collapse of Welsh agriculture and rural incomes. “Those assessments, analyses and policies must have at the heart of them the Welsh family farm: farms which have the highest productivity per hectare, are responsible for the overwhelming majority of Welsh food production and form the backbone of our rural communities.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Farming

Value of hedges in storing carbon below ground studied in soil project

Published

on

THE ROLE hedges play in capturing carbon and storing it in soils is being investigated as Farming Connect gathers soil samples from across Wales in an initiative that will provide important benchmarking data for farmers.

Data collection for the second year of the Welsh Soil Project is underway, and this time soil samples have also been taken from land within a metre from field hedges, in addition to within-field samples.

Dr Non Williams, Farming Connect’s Carbon Specialist Officer, said the aim is to compare soil carbon stocks within fields and under woody vegetation.

“We often get questions from farmers about this, and we hope that the results of this project will provide them with the answers,’’ she said.

“Estimating the soil carbon levels by hedges will help to highlight their importance for climate change mitigation.’’

Farmers have a key role to play in tackling climate change and soils can play an important part in that.

The Welsh Soil Project samples are being analysed ahead of Wales Climate Week in December.

Over 1,000 samples were taken from farms that are a part of Farming Connect’s Our Farms Network, which were then analysed for organic matter content and bulk density, as well as other measurements.

For uniformity, all samples were collected within the same period this autumn and from grass fields including permanent pasture, hay and silage fields, and reseeds.

“This project looks at how varying management intensities, along with geographical factors, are impacting soil carbon stocks across Wales.”

Soil was taken from multiple depths, from the top 10cm layer to a depth of 50cm.

Dr Williams, who is leading the project, is a speaker at a major soil science event in Belfast in December.

At the British Society of Soil Science and the Soil Science Society of Ireland Annual Conference, she will deliver a presentation on the preliminary results of the project.

Soil carbon and carbon in general are also themes at three Farming Connect Masterclasses taking place in February 2024.

Dr Williams, who will lead these workshops, said it will give farmers an opportunity to improve their understanding of the basics of carbon footprinting prior to carrying out a carbon audit for their farms.

“These interactive workshops will focus on breaking down the carbon jargon, allow farmers to learn about the significance of the carbon cycle to their farm, and how it can be influenced to help reduce the farm’s carbon footprint in the future,’’ she said.

The events will take place at Llety Cynin, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, on 6 February, at Elephant and Castle, Newtown, on 8 February, and at Nanhoron Arms Hotel, Nefyn on 20 February, all from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Further details on how to book a place can be found on the Farming Connect website.

Continue Reading

Farming

Time to ‘protect Welsh farming from the Welsh Government’ – Gwlad Gwlad

Published

on

GWYN WIGLEY EVANS, leader of Gwlad Gwlad, the Welsh Independence Party that believes in a working economy (www.gwlad.org) has spoken out on the threat not just to Welsh farming but the lives of Welsh farmers posed by the Welsh Government’s new Habitat Wales scheme.

Gwyn Wigley Evans explained the impact of the scheme: “The Welsh Government’s new scheme will reduce farmers to badly paid environmental managers. It is equivalent to planting trees on rugby pitches and still expecting games of rugby. The former farmers will see incomes fall by 50 to 90%. Each family farm supports 7 businesses within 20 miles. They can all expect massive reductions.”

Gwyn Evans has direct engagement with the social impact of difficulties in rural communities. He has been a Samaritan and CRUSE (Bereavement Counselling) counsellor for 23 years. Addressing his remarks to Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Government Rural Affairs Minister, he pointed out “This policy will leave blood on the Welsh Government’s hands. The Samaritans, DPJ, Tir Dewi are going to be busy. This policy will pull the trigger on the guns. The effects of the Habitat Wales scheme will clear the environment of people as deliberately as the Highland Clearances.”

When addressing actions to follow he said “Plaid Cymru is no use to Welsh Farmers. They support Mark Drakeford’s Rural Affairs policies meeting the goals of London Labour environmentalists not Welsh Farmers. Gwlad Gwlad will hold a meeting at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on 27 November 2023 to focus on how to resist the worst impacts of the Habitat Wales scheme.Exports of Food and Drink were worth £797m to the Welsh economy in 2022 and are growing faster than the UK as a whole.

The world is full of small countries which have powered ahead, economically and socially, since achieving their independence. Gwlad Gwlad believes that Wales should be one of them: a prosperous, successful independent country enjoying good relations with its neighbours and comfortable in its own skin.

Continue Reading

Farming

Leader of Welsh Lib Dems visits Carmarthenshire farm to highlight farmers concerns

Published

on

LAST WEEK (Nov 16) the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS visited Blaencennan farm in Llangadog to highlight issues affecting common land farmers in Wales.

During the visit, the following issues were raised:

-Concerns around the Habitat Wales Scheme.

-The importance of Welsh communities and the Welsh language and how the farming industry ties into that.

-The willingness of farmers to diversify their businesses.

-Commonland farming being included in the Universal payments in the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

-Ensuring that land is being farmed and not just being left, with non-grazed dry land presenting a potential fire risk.

Mrs Dodds also welcomed on the visit the Rural Affairs Minister for Wales Lesley Griffiths MS, as well as representatives from the National Farmers Union.

Commenting, Jane Dodds MS said: “It was a pleasure to visit Blaencennan farm today alongside the Minister Lesley Griffiths MS and representatives from the National Farmers Union.

Many farmers across Wales are being faced with an uncertain future and they desperately need our support.

My hope from this visit is that the concerns of the farming community are listened to and acted upon.

The Habitat Wales scheme is laden with pitfalls caused by incorrect mapping of farmland areas and a considerable low compensation offer to farmers that will leave them worse off.

If we are going to be serious about the creation of a sustainable farming model, then it is vital that we fix these errors before the scheme is launched.

It is clear to see that farmers want to do the right thing by helping the environment and by working together we can bring a brighter and greener future for Wales.”

Continue Reading

News2 days ago

Deep Space Radar base to be built in Brawdy, creating 100 jobs

IN A MAJOR announcement today (Dec 2) the Defence Secretaries of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have...

News3 days ago

Decades-old naval shell in front garden prompts bomb squad alert

AN UNASSUMING naval shell, a longstanding fixture in the front garden of a Milford Haven home for 74 years, unexpectedly...

News3 days ago

Concerns raised as council social worker charged with child sex offences

A WOMAN, whose grandson is being helped by social services and is classed as a vulnerable child, is one of...

Crime4 days ago

Burglar admits to string of thefts across county

JOHN SMITH, 45, of Stover Avenue in Sageston, pleaded guilty to a series of calculated burglaries spanning across Pembrokeshire this...

News4 days ago

Tenby holiday park solar panels plans get thumbs-up

PLANS for nearly 600 solar panels at a Pembrokeshire holiday park have been approved by council officers. Kiln Park Estates...

News4 days ago

At least’ 150% second homes tax premium on cards in Pembrokeshire

A CALL for the second homes and empty property council tax premiums in cash-strapped Pembrokeshire to rise to at least...

News4 days ago

Shocking waiting times for ambulances and at A&E

ONLY 56% of October’s most urgent “red calls” for ambulances in the Hywel Dda health board area failed to reach...

News5 days ago

County mourns loss of revered priest and community pillar, Father McGreal

THE CATHOLIC community in Pembrokeshire is in mourning this week after the passing of one of its most well-known priests,...

Sport5 days ago

This week’s Pembrokeshire rugby round up – 25/11/23

THERE was plenty of rugby to choose from up and down the county last weekend. We round up the latest...

News6 days ago

Police investigating after van and bike collide in Dale

DYFED-POWYS POLICE is investigating a collision which occurred at approximately 10am on Monday, October 23 2023. A bike and a...

Popular This Week