Welsh Government guarantees £340m annually for Sustainable Farming Scheme as minister pledges greater certainty and less bureaucracy

WELSH farmers will receive more than £1 billion in agricultural funding over the remainder of the Senedd term, under a new multi-year commitment announced by the Welsh Government.

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd, unveiled the package at the Royal Welsh Show, in his first major announcement since taking responsibility for the rural affairs portfolio.

The Government has guaranteed £340 million a year for three years, taking funding for the Sustainable Farming Scheme through to March 2030.

Of that annual total, £238 million will support the scheme’s Universal Layer, while £102 million will fund Optional and Collaborative actions.

The Welsh Government said the agreement would end the uncertainty caused by annual funding settlements and allow farming businesses to make longer-term investment and planning decisions.

The commitment was promised during the first 100 days of the new Plaid Cymru Government.

Mr Gruffydd said: “Giving farmers only 12 months’ line of sight to funding is not sufficient.

“We know how hard it is to plan and make business decisions without knowing what funding is coming.

“Farmers told us loud and clear they need certainty and stability, and that is exactly what we are delivering.”

Red tape changes announced

The minister also announced initial measures intended to reduce bureaucracy for family farms, following early feedback from an independent review led by former NFU Cymru president John Davies.

The requirements of the Animal Health Improvement Cycle, known as AHIC, will be simplified under the Universal Layer of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

The Welsh Government will work with farm assurance schemes to align their requirements from 2027.

Farmers participating in an aligned assurance scheme would then complete one form following a single veterinary visit, rather than carrying out separate processes for farm assurance and Sustainable Farming Scheme compliance.

Because 2026 is being treated as a transition year, membership of farm assurance schemes that have committed to aligning their requirements by 2027 will be accepted as satisfying the AHIC requirement this year.

Mr Gruffydd said the relationship between farmers and their vets would remain central to improving animal health and farm performance.

New grants opening

Applications for organic conversion support are expected to open at the end of July.

A new Production and Efficiency capital grant category will also provide support towards livestock-handling facilities, precision soil and crop-management equipment, and other investments designed to reduce waste and improve productivity.

Further Optional Actions will be introduced over the coming months.

The Small Woodland Creation Grant and Woodland Creation Grant application windows will open on Monday, July 20.

A further window for the Integrated Natural Resources Scheme, which forms part of the Collaborative Layer, is also expected to open later this year.

Mr Gruffydd said: “The family farm sits at the heart of rural Wales, its economy and its communities.

“I am committed to working to ensure farming in Wales thrives for generations to come.

“My message to farmers from day one has been: you have a minister on your side.

“Someone who is in tune with the agricultural sector, who knows that the family farm is the foundation of our rural economy and our rural communities, and who will work every day to make sure farming in Wales thrives for generations to come.”

Ceredigion Penfro MS says disease is placing severe emotional and financial pressure on farming families

Paul Davies MS has urged the Welsh Government to use every available measure to tackle bovine tuberculosis and work towards eradicating the disease in Wales.

The Ceredigion Penfro Senedd Member raised the issue during a Senedd debate, warning that bovine TB continues to have a devastating impact on farmers, their families and rural communities.

Mr Davies called for a science-led and comprehensive strategy that addresses every potential source and route of infection.

He said farmers across west Wales needed clear leadership from the new Welsh Government and greater confidence that ministers were prepared to take effective action.

Mr Davies said: “Bovine TB continues to have a huge impact on farmers, their families and rural communities across Wales.

“It places enormous emotional and financial pressure on farming businesses and remains one of the most significant challenges facing our agricultural industry.

“Farmers and the wider rural community are looking to the new Welsh Government to provide leadership by introducing a holistic approach that addresses all routes of transmission.

“The Welsh Government must do everything it can to eradicate this appalling disease.

“I will continue to raise this issue on behalf of farmers in west Wales and press the Welsh Government to use every lever available to tackle bovine TB.”

A RETROSPECTIVE call for amendments to a previously granted building and slurry lagoon at a 700-herd Pembrokeshire dairy farm has been given the go-ahead by county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Bill Ridge of Vaynor Farm Ltd, Bethesda sought retrospective permission for a replacement agricultural building for cattle housing, the retention of a slurry lagoon as built and associated works at Talybont Farm, Llawhaden.

A supporting statement through agent Cynllunio RW Planning Ltd said: “Bill Ridge farms at Vaynor Farm, trading as Vaynor Farm Ltd. The farm is a 645-acre farm compromising of owned and rented land, this supports a dairy herd of circa 700 cows. The dairy system is an extensive grass-based spring calving system.

“The application is made following receipt of a letter from the local authority planning enforcement department stating that the replacement agricultural building which had recently been erected required planning permission and that the lagoon also recently built seemed not to be in line with the approved plans of [the 2022 application] recently approved on site for the lagoon.

“Therefore, this application seeks retrospective planning permission for the retention of the building as built and the lagoon as built.”

It said the 22.72 by 13.33-metre agricultural building “will house the farm’s dairy replacement heifers as a replacement to the previous building on site,” and the lagoon is of a similar size, depth and capacity to the previously approved one, other than slight changes in positioning and orientation, providing 4,500square metres of slurry storage, which in combination with the existing store of 6,900cubic meters at Vaynor will provide over 170 days’ storage.

It went on to say: “All development is reasonably required for the purpose of agriculture. The applicant does not intend to increase the farm’s stocking rate as a result of this development.”

An officer report recommending approval said the application had been amended since being submitted to improve the proposed green infrastructure, adding: “Information has been provided during the course of the application that proposal is not intended to result in, or support, an increase in the herd numbers of the agricultural enterprise.”

It concluded: “Based upon the information provided within the application, it is considered that the development would be reasonably necessary for the purpose of agriculture.”

The application was conditionally approved.