Farming

Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP hopefuls quizzed on farming

Published

2 years ago

July 1, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AHEAD of the July 4 general election, Mid and South Pembrokeshire general election hopefuls have outlined what they will do the support farming and the countryside.

As part of constituency changes, bits of north Pembrokeshire – including St Davids and– are joining the new Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency.

Mid and South Pembrokeshire covers Letterston, Solva and St Davids down to Hundleton and Tenby, stretching eastwards to Amroth, Narberth and Lampeter Velfrey.

Other parts of the north of the county are now in the new Ceredigion Preseli constituency; which extends up past Aberystwyth and also includes Cilgerran, Crymych, St Dogmaels, Fishguard and Llanrhian.

There’s now a 15-candidate battle for the two seats, eight in Mid and South Pembrokeshire and seven in Ceredigion Preseli.

With a July 4 date set for the general election, the currently declared candidates for Mid and South Pembrokeshire are: Hanna Andersen (Women’s Equality Party); Alistair Cameron (Welsh Liberal Democrats); Stephen Crabb (Welsh Conservative); Stuart Marchant (Reform UK); James Purchase (Green Party); Vusi Siphika (Independent); Cris Tomos (Plaid Cymru); and Henry Tufnell (Welsh Labour).

Liberal Democrat candidate Alistair Cameron said: “Our farmers have a key role in ensuring that everyone can get affordable, healthy and nutritious food produced to high welfare and environmental standards. We must ensure that all imported food meets UK standards for health and welfare, and that goods are properly checked.

“Liberal Democrats would renegotiate the Australia and New Zealand trade agreements in line with our objectives for health, environmental and animal welfare standards, withdrawing from them if that cannot be achieved.

“I am pleased the Welsh Government is reviewing its proposed farm payment scheme as we need a fairer scheme.

“As a county councillor, I want to ensure that our planning policies safeguard and preserve our beautiful Pembrokeshire countryside whilst at the same time enabling people to make a decent living sustainably. “

Green Party candidate James Purchase said: “The Green Party will push for the financial support for farmers to be almost tripled. These payments will be linked to the reduction of pesticides and various agro-chemicals.

“It’s our food system that’s failing us – not farmers. Farmers must be fully supported in their transition to nature friendly farming – not shamed and blamed. Remember: land owners are not necessarily farmers. Poor diets are estimated to cost the NHS £6.5 billion a year and successive governments have failed to take on the unhealthy food lobby. I lived and worked on a large farm in Pembs for 20 yrs and, though not a farmer, witnessed the radical changes that had to be made to survive. The Green Party will work with farmers and other stakeholders to transform our food and farming systems.”

Hanna Andersen said: “The deep cuts to our public services mean that swathes of rural areas have lost local access care.

“I will champion local services which are accessible to all, are run for the needs of the communities they serve and are inclusive to everyone. This means working with rural communities in particular to ensure they have access to the care they need.

“I am also committed to working with farming communities to facilitate a fair and just transition to climate friendly farming, prioritising food security for local people.”

Labour candidate Henry Tufnell said: “I come from a farming family, and it was an integral part of my life growing up. A key priority for me therefore is to facilitate that positive working relationship between the rural community and the Welsh Government.

“Furthermore, the farming community in Pembrokeshire needs a government in Westminster that recognises food security is national security, extends the new veterinary agreement to cover all the UK thereby removing export barriers, harnesses our diplomatic and trade networks to champion Welsh farming whilst protecting the environment, and sets a target for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.”

Conservative candidate Stephen Crabb said: “Farming is the backbone of the Pembrokeshire economy. When Pembrokeshire farming is doing well, our whole county does well.

“I am clear that food production must remain at the heart of agricultural policy, and I opposed Welsh Labour’s plans for removing 10 per cent of agricultural land for tree planting. I have a strong track record of standing up for Pembrokeshire’s farming community, fighting for fairer milk prices and a strong Supermarket Ombudsman to get a better deal for farmers.

“I will continue to challenge Welsh Labour’s failure to tackle Bovine TB which is causing high levels of stress and anxiety to farmers. I will also continue to campaign for lower fuel taxes, more affordable housing for Pembrokeshire people, and better rural transport connections.”

Reform’s Stuart Marchant said: “It seems to me that our farmers have been let down and are continually being let down. The Senedd is responsible for farming within Wales but in my view they are not held to account properly. I would expect to be the voice of my constituents and I would not be afraid to hold the Senedd to account vocally.

“Reform UK are also the only party that promises to increase the UK’s farming budget to £3 billion. Money that would then be issued by the Senedd within Wales but I would expect to closely monitor.

“I am also a believer in transport links. Our constituency is not well served by rail or road and I would expect to voice frequent and often calls for vast improvements to our rail links and roads.”

Independent Vusi Siphika said: “Farming and agriculture is an agenda with many intricacies. The government needs to stop dismantling farmland hectare by hectare, placing conditions on subsidies and trust farmers to do what they know – feed the nation!

“Mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure our farmers get paid a fairer price. Supermarkets need to pay our farmers more.

“Farmer poverty is a reality which must end. Farmers need government support to find modern solutions of farming that can still maintain levels of yield in production but protect the very land they work for generations to come.”

Plaid Cymru candidate Cris Tomos said: “Plaid Cymru is on the side of Welsh farming as the sector has faced serious challenges from both the Conservatives in Westminster, and Labour in Cardiff. Years of Tory economic chaos has contributed to huge rises in farm input costs and Westminster’s post-Brexit trade deals have allowed more cheap imports to undermine domestic markets.

“The Tories promised ‘not a penny less’ in farm funding to Wales, yet we have been left hundreds of millions of pounds worse off due to this broken promise. £243m is the estimate.

“I believe Wales should have a veto over future trade deals that undermine Welsh agricultural communities. I also opposed Labour’s Sustainable Farming Scheme in the Senedd, which called for 10% tree cover on all farms.”

Crime

Farmers fined in bovine TB scandal face fresh court action

Published

1 day 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.

Business

Planners reject farm’s sheep milk gin distillery expansion

Published

1 day ago

June 10, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to keep a building which would partly be used a distillery at a Pembrokeshire farm which produces award-winning sheep milk-infused gin has been turned down by county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Steven and Julie Ayers of Fifth Flock Spirits Ltd through agent Johnston Planning Ltd sought permission for the retention of a replacement building for farm diversification purposes incorporating a gin distillery with associated function/tasting room, reception area for farm businesses, including the distillery, a kennels and caravan site, along with offices and associated storage facilities at Nash Mountain Farm, Sardis.

Two previous similar 2024 and 2025 applications have been refused, the latest scheme removing some previous elements.

A supporting statement said the building would be used for farm diversification purposes for a number of established rural enterprises on the holding “but primarily in connection with Fifth Flock Spirits Ltd, a family run drinks company specializing in gin infused with milk derived from the resident flock at Nash Mountain”.

It said the 2023-erected building had replaced an earlier long-standing dilapidated farm building on the site, and is intended to play host to the three established farm enterprises which are run in conjunction with the main agricultural operation: Nash Mountain Kennels, Nash Mountain Caravan and Camping Site and primarily Fifth Flock Ltd.

It said internal works had yet to be completed, and, in addition to the retention of the building, the application also seeks permission for some external works which have not yet been carried out.

The statement said the Ayers family has farmed at 26ha Nash Mountain, which has a flock of 168 East Friesian sheep, for some five generations, the limited acreage meaning “the agricultural mainstay is not sufficient to sustain a viable business,” leading to the farm diversifications, with Fifth Flock the latest.

It said, in addition to the main farming operation, Nash Mountain also gains income from an on-site wind turbine, a caravan site, a boarding kennels with cattery, and Fifth Flock Ltd.

On the gin side, the statement says: “Fifth Flock Spirits Ltd Fifth Flock has operated from Nash Mountain since August 2025. It is at core currently a drinks enterprise based on the production of gin and rum infused with sheep’s milk, however, as set out in the accompanying business plan, the intention is to expand the offer into other sheep-based products to capitalise on the home flock.

“Since launching the enterprise has exceeded expectations with strong demand and accolades including A Taste of Pembrokeshire Award at the Pembrokeshire Food and Farming Awards in December 2025.

“Firth Flock currently source their gin from an independent distillery in Gorgeddan, Ceredigion however the intention, as reflected in this submission, is to develop the distilling element on-site and include it as part of an immersive visitor experience focussing on the home flock.

“Firth Flock has rapidly become a cornerstone of the enterprise at Nash Mountain and whilst the building at the centre of this proposal may have been premature there is a strong case for its retention as part of the overall rural enterprise on the holding.”

It adds that the Ayers are actively exploring diversification into other wool and sheep-based products.

The application was refused on the grounds including it was not demonstrated a countyside location was needed and there was not “sufficient evidence of a genuine and established rural enterprise necessitating the development,” adding: “In particular, the primary distilling process does not currently take place at the site and instead relies on off-site production, with only a future aspiration to relocate such activities.

“As a result, the proposal represents a speculative form of development that lacks a clear and direct functional link to the agricultural holding.”

It went on to say the scale of the proposals “introduces a level of intensity and built form more akin to a standalone commercial or tourism enterprise, rather than a modest farm diversification scheme”.

Farming

Plaid challenged over badger cull fears as Labour demands answers

Published

2 days ago

June 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

WELSH LABOUR has challenged Plaid Cymru over fears that badger culling could return as part of the new Welsh Government’s approach to bovine TB.

Interim Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates questioned First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth in the Senedd today, Tuesday (Jun 9), after Plaid Cymru’s manifesto pledged a “new approach” to managing bovine TB which recognises wildlife as a source of infection and allows “scientifically validated control methods”.

Labour says the wording has raised concerns among animal welfare campaigners that badger culling could be reconsidered in Wales.

During First Minister’s Questions, Mr Skates asked: “What is Plaid Cymru’s preferred method of killing badgers? Is it to shoot badgers? To poison badgers? Perhaps bludgeon them, or gas them?

“Would you want the badgers shot or poisoned or do you have another method in mind?”

The First Minister did not rule out badger culling in his response, according to Welsh Labour.

However, Plaid Cymru has not explicitly said it will reintroduce badger culling. Its manifesto refers to “scientifically validated control methods”, wording which could cover a range of approaches unless ministers provide further clarification.

The issue remains highly sensitive in rural Wales. Farmers and farming unions have long argued that wildlife transmission must be addressed as part of any serious bovine TB strategy, while animal welfare campaigners strongly oppose any return to culling.

Labour said the previous Welsh Government rejected badger culling following research which it said showed the practice was cruel and ineffective in tackling the spread of bovine TB.

Mr Skates said: “I was appalled that the First Minister dismissed concerns raised about animal welfare today as ‘not a serious question’.

“Plaid Cymru’s approach to the outdated and cruel practice of culling badgers sets a dangerous precedent around how they will approach animal welfare. Which animal rights are they prepared to roll back on?

“Welsh Labour will continue to hold the government to account to ensure the progress made on a safer, kinder Wales for animals is not undone.”