Farming

Eustice turns in a useless performance

Published

5 years ago

November 19, 2020

GEORGE EUSTICE has all the qualifications to be DEFRA Secretary of State in the Westminster Government.
He owns a pair of green wellingtons, corduroy trousers, a smart tweed jacket and a wax jacket.
He must be very good at his job. He’s been a Minister in DEFRA for most of the last six years.

CAR CRASH INTERVIEW

Which makes his catastrophically ignorant performance on Sunday’s Andrew Marr programme all the more baffling.
After six years as a Government minister, four of which have come after the result of the 2016 Referendum and ten months of which have come after Boris Johnson ‘got Brexit done’, Mr Eustice appears to have little or no grasp of the realities of agricultural production and food processing.
His nonsensical remarks about sheep farming – which he has sought to clarity – have received a lot of attention.
Of equally worthy attention is how George Eustice regards the interaction between markets.
In Eustice World ™, tariffs will have no effect on the UK’s dairy industry because tariffs will also be applied to EU goods coming into the UK. Which would be an interesting take if in the last reported year the UK didn’t operate a surplus of dairy trade with the EU. In short, EU countries buy more of ours than we do of theirs.
No doubt the gap in exports will be taken up by exporting blue cheese to the notoriously lactose-intolerant population of Japan.

ARLA RESPOND WITH HUMOUR

As an illustration of the Eustice Doctrine the DEFRA Secretary claimed that if producers like Arla wanted to continue to trade in the UK, they would have to relocate their production of Lurpak to the UK.
Arla explained in a subsequent tweet, doubtless to George Eustice’s amazement after only six years in DEFRA, Lurpak is subject to legal origin protections. Those mean that Arla can only produce Lurpak® in Denmark with Danish milk. It can’t be produced in the UK.
Arla helpfully added: “Don’t panic, whatever happens with Brexit, we’re sure we’ll be able to find a way to keep Lurpak coming into the UK.”
Dairy production was only a small part of George Eustice’s monumental achievements during his interview.
He went on to anger sheep farmers with a crass assertion so wrong-headed that even his subsequent attempted gloss on his words rubbed salt into their wounds.

FEELING THE HEAT OVER SHEEP MEAT

Andrew Marr asked George Eustice about the effect on sheep farmers. In a no-deal Brexit, red meat exporters face tariff barriers to trade with their largest export market. Over 40% of sheep meat is exported to the EU and that accounts for 90% of all UK sheepmeat exports. The largest market for British sheep meat in the EU is France, which takes around half of all exports.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the tariffs on lamb exports would make UK production uncompetitive in the EU market. Worse, the prospect of a trade deal with New Zealand raises the dual prospect of imports carving UK farmersout of their home markets.
Mr Eustice blithely asserted that UK sheep farmers would face only short term price drops and farmers who farmed sheep and cattle together could diversify into beef as imports from Ireland and the EU would fall due to increased tariffs affecting imports to the UK.
He subsequently clarified: “In my comments on the Andrew Marr Show, I did not say that all sheep farmers should diversify into beef. I said that if tariffs were applied then some mixed beef and sheep enterprises might choose to diversify more into beef because Irish beef would become subject to tariffs, creating new opportunities for British producers.”
That is not what Mr Eustice said. He said mixed cattle and sheep farms could diversify.
Mr Eustice’s suggestion would only have force if he thought most sheep farmers farmed cattle. Otherwise, his answer on sheep tariffs would make no sense in context.
On the latter point, farming organisations expressed dismay and bemusement at Mr Eustice’s ignorance.

FARMERS RESPOND TO USELESS DISPLAY

Phil Stocker, CEO of the National Sheep said: “Mr Eustice’s comments will have angered many of our nation’s sheep farmers, failing to identify the unique and varied nature of sheep enterprises across the country.
“To begin with, to suggest that many of our sheep farmers are mixed farmers is wrong. This assumption will enrage sheep farmers across the UK who have structured their farms to focus on sheep, and it will particularly antagonise our devolved nations where the landscape includes more remote areas of countryside, especially suited to sheep, and where buildings, machinery and farminfrastructure simply would not suit a sudden switch to cattle farming.
“The fact we have many sheep farmers, especially younger farmers and new entrants to the sector who run their sheep on arable farms and on short term grass lets was completely ignored – simply switching to cattle would be impossible for them.
“I find it hard to think that George Eustice really believes what he said This interview leaves us thinking his comments could either be part of creating a ‘we don’t care’ attitude to bolster trade negotiations, or, and this would be highly concerning, it exposes an underlying willingness to see our sheep industry go through a restructure to reduce its size, scale and diversity.”
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “The reality is that failure to reach a trade deal would have a catastrophic impact for our key agricultural sectors that would hit home very quickly, with the sheep industry likely to feel the impact most acutely.
“It would also cause untold disruption to food and other supply chains and complete anarchy at our ports.”
Mr Roberts said that such a failure would also have devastating impacts for EU businesses and that it was therefore in both the EU and UK’s interest to ‘pull out all the stops’ to reach a deal.
Mr Roberts also rebuffed claims by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the UK ‘will prosper’ without an EU trade deal.
“You cannot cut yourself off from the worlds biggest economy and trading block in the height of a global pandemic, the worst recession for a century and having borrowed a quarter of a trillion to cope and think it’s going to go well.
“Not only would this amount to catastrophic self -harm from an economic point of view, but also at a practical level the country is woefully unprepared to cope with the flow of goods over our borders and all the paperwork and checks that this requires.”
Mr Roberts said that while EU ports facing the UK had undertaken significant changes to prepare for different Brexit scenarios, many UK ports were still in the early stages of planning new infrastructure and would not be prepared to cope with the movement of goods until at least July next year.
“Even if a deal is reached, we are facing significant additional costs and disruption as a result of non-tariff barriers due to the UK’s decision to leave the Single Market and customs union.
“A no-deal will severely escalate these and must be avoided at all costs,” he added.
NFU Cymru President John Davies said: “Ahead of the EU Referendum and ever since, NFU Cymru has been consistent in its messaging that a ‘No deal’ Brexit outcome, which would see the UK trading with the EU on WTO terms, would be a catastrophic position for Welsh farming. The reason for our strong position is that the EU market has been – and remains – the nearest, largest and most lucrative export market for many Welsh products. It is a marketplace where our customers recognise and value the Welsh brand and the high standards it represents.
“Only a year ago the industry was told that the odds of a ‘No deal’ Brexit were ‘a million to one against’ and there was an ‘oven-ready deal’, yet here we are only weeks before the end of the transition period, facing the prospect of ‘No deal’ and high tariffs on our exports.
“The comments made by Secretary of State George Eustice serve to further underline why it is so important to Welsh agriculture that UK Government agrees on a deal that secures access to the EU without tariff barriers and with minimal friction.
“The Secretary of State’s view that Welsh sheep farmers could diversify into beef production to offset the impact of a ‘non-negotiated outcome’ will be of major concern to our sheep farmers, who are some of the most efficient and innovative in the world producing a quality product. The reality is that changing production methods involves long-term production cycles and for many, the significant investment required makes it an unviable option.
“The Minister’s comments on the dairy sector are also concerning and do not account for the fact that we are net exporters of some dairy commodities and that the profitability of some domestic sectors, like liquid milk, is tied closely to the timely export of high-value co-products to the EU, like cream. The idea that many of the major EU dairy processors will have to relocate their operations to the UK is fraught with difficulties and is, in many cases, unviable.
“Being priced out of our nearest and most important export markets for even a short amount of time would have severe consequences for the food and farming sector in Wales.”
TFA National Chair Mark Coulman said: “To suggest that dairy farmers will be saved by forcing Arla to produce its popular Lurpak brand in the UK when it is legally bound to keep its production in Denmark and that dedicated and successful sheep farmers should consider diversifying into beef production, if export markets for our high-quality lamb become closed to us, were not helpful, to say the least. The farming community was hoping for much better than this.
“Somehow, we need to use the short time available to garner the strength to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. This will require a concerted effort with the Government and the farming industry working together to achieve that. Although late in the day, the TFA is committed to engaging in that work,” Mr Coulman concluded.

Business

Plans to rebuild arson hit building at farm with one of largest sheep flocks in Wales

Published

12 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to rebuild a fire-damaged Pembrokeshire farm building, as a family home to help manage one of the largest sheep flocks in Wales, has been submitted to the national park.

In the application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, D B Davies and Sons through agent Harries Planning Design Management, with a supporting statement by Reading Agricultural Consultants Ltd, seek permission to renovate an existing fire-damaged dwelling, together with the conversion and extension of outbuildings to form an agricultural worker’s dwelling at Mynydd Du, Rosebush.

The supporting statement through Reading Agricultural Consultants Ltd says Mynydd Du is part of a wider holding which includes Eisteddfa Fawr and land around the village of Brynberian, the farms approximately six km apart, with land under control of the applicant amounting to some 1,500 acres, with a further 3,000 acres of Preseli mountain common land also used; the land accommodating a 5,000-ewe flock with 10 suckler cows and followers.

It says DB Davies & Sons Unlimited, has five partners: the two Davies brothers, Berian and Ken; their wives; and Berian’s son, Dyfed.

Berian and Ken are in their late 70s, with most of the heavy work on the farm is undertaken by Dyfed.

Dyfed and his wife Megan are first language Welsh speakers, living some 10 km away in Nevern, while Berian and Ken, and their wives, live at Eisteddfa Fawr, Brynberian.

The dwelling at Mynydd Du, where most sheep are now wintered, is structurally sound and repairable but has been unoccupied since 1990, and was subject to arson circa 2013, the statement says.

It says Dyfed works full-time on the farm, alone with increasing frequency as the older business members are above retirement age, working “long hours out of necessity to undertake all the work associated with one of the largest flocks of sheep in Wales”.

“His working hours are extended further due to the fact that he lives remote (6kms) from the main block of land at Tyllosg, where Mynydd Du is situated in the centre of the farm. Travelling back and forth several times each day during lambing and other times during poor weather, to check on flock welfare is an arduous task and can be dangerous, particularly if driving when tired during inclement conditions.”

The statement adds: “The application seeks permission to repair the fire damaged dwelling at Mynydd Du and bring it back to serve a useful purpose to enable Dyfed to closely monitor the ewes, not only at lambing, but throughout the year when the flock is grazing on the adjacent common land.

“It will also enable Dyfed to be with his partner and young child on a more regular basis than simply at the end of a long day when he is away from their current home, tending the sheep at Mynydd Du.”

The application will be considered by park planners at a later date.

Farming

Wales sees progress in bovine TB fight as debate over badger role continues

Published

22 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Tom Sinclair

New figures show decline in herd incidents, but disagreement remains over wildlife controls

WALES is making steady progress in tackling bovine tuberculosis (bTB), according to the Welsh Government, but a long-running debate over the role of badgers in spreading the disease continues to divide opinion.

In a written statement issued this week, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, HUW IRRANCA-DAVIES, outlined what he described as “clear progress” in Wales’s eradication programme.

Latest figures show a sustained long-term decrease in new TB herd incidents, which ministers say reflects the success of a science-led, cattle-focused strategy. The approach has prioritised enhanced testing, stricter movement controls, and improved biosecurity on farms.

The Welsh Government says more sensitive testing methods are helping to identify infection earlier, while efforts are also being made to reduce the number of cattle slaughtered unnecessarily.

However, the issue of whether wildlife—particularly badgers—plays a significant role in spreading the disease remains contentious.

Farmers and government under pressure

Bovine TB continues to have a major economic and emotional impact on Welsh farming communities, particularly in rural areas of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Farmers’ unions have long argued that wildlife reservoirs, including badgers, contribute to the persistence of the disease, and have called for stronger intervention measures.

In England, controversial badger culling programmes have been rolled out over the past decade, with UK Government figures suggesting significant reductions in TB rates in some areas.

But those claims remain disputed, with critics arguing that the evidence is far from clear-cut.

Badger Trust backs Welsh approach

Responding to the Welsh Government’s latest statement, the Badger Trust welcomed the direction of policy in Wales and urged ministers to maintain a focus on cattle-based controls.

The charity said the latest statistics demonstrated that Wales’s approach was delivering “real results” and represented a clear improvement on policy seen elsewhere.

Chief Executive NIGEL PALMER said: “The latest TB statistics show sustained long-term decreases in new TB herd incidents, demonstrating that Wales’s science-led, cattle-focused approach is delivering real results.”

The Trust also questioned the effectiveness of culling, arguing that reductions in England cannot be attributed solely to killing badgers.

It said: “The analysis behind this figure cannot separate the effects of culling from other measures such as enhanced cattle testing, stricter movement controls, and improved biosecurity.”

The organisation maintains that bovine TB is primarily a cattle disease, with most transmission occurring between cattle rather than from wildlife.

Scientific disagreement remains

The role of badgers in spreading bTB has been the subject of decades of scientific study, with no universal consensus.

Some studies have suggested that badgers can act as a reservoir for the disease, potentially infecting cattle through environmental contamination.

Others, including research cited by animal welfare groups, argue that the impact of badgers on overall transmission rates is limited compared to cattle-to-cattle spread.

The Welsh Government’s own Technical Advisory Group has previously stated that a combination of measures may be needed, including consideration of wildlife alongside cattle controls.

However, Wales has so far resisted introducing widespread badger culling, instead focusing on vaccination trials and tighter cattle measures.

Calls for clarity and consistency

The Badger Trust also raised concerns about international standards, arguing that requirements for Officially TB Free status focus primarily on bovine species rather than wildlife.

It warned that policies targeting badgers risk diverting attention and resources away from more effective cattle-based interventions.

At the same time, farming representatives continue to press for stronger action, arguing that without addressing all potential sources of infection, eradication efforts could stall.

A long road ahead

While the latest figures suggest progress, the Welsh Government has acknowledged that completely eradicating bovine TB remains a long-term challenge.

For now, Wales appears set to continue its cautious, evidence-led approach—balancing animal health, farming livelihoods, and wildlife protection.

But with pressure mounting from both sides of the debate, the question of how far to go in tackling the disease is unlikely to be settled any time soon.

Farming

£3 million secured to continue Welsh sheep genetics programme

Published

23 hours ago

March 19, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has confirmed £3 million in funding over the next three financial years to continue the Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme (WSGP), helping Welsh sheep farmers improve efficiency, productivity and environmental performance.

From April 2026, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) will lead Phase 2 of the programme, marking a significant next step in supporting farmers to make smarter, evidence-based breeding decisions.

The new phase will provide transition support for existing participants while also opening the programme to new flocks. Farmers will receive practical, technical and financial support to make use of Genomic Estimated Breeding Values, advanced genetic tools designed to help them make better-informed decisions at farm level. The data collected will also strengthen industry benchmarking and support longer-term business planning.

Phase 2 will also include the development of robust key performance indicators, tailored farm-level action plans, and an ambitious portfolio of research projects aimed at driving innovation across the sector.

The programme’s objectives are closely aligned with the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which launched on January 1, 2026, as well as HCC’s Vision 2030, reflecting a shared commitment to a productive, sustainable and competitive Welsh red meat industry.

Phase 1 of the WSGP, delivered by Farming Connect, comes to an end on March 31, 2026. Since launching in 2023, the programme has achieved significant progress, including introducing genomics into the sheep sector for the first time anywhere in the world.

It has also generated 70,000 genotypes across Tier 1 and Tier 2 flocks on the AHDB-Signet database since 2023, the highest number recorded there, while developing two major research strands focused on breeding for worm resistance and reduced methane emissions.

The programme has worked in close partnership with leading specialists, including Innovis and AHDB-Signet, and has delivered measurable genetic gains and improvements in key performance traits across participating flocks.

The investment underlines the Welsh Government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while supporting the production of high-quality, sustainable PGI Welsh Lamb.

Deputy First Minister for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, said: “This funding demonstrates our commitment to supporting farmers to build profitable, resilient businesses while delivering on our climate ambitions. The Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme shows what is possible when cutting-edge science meets the proud tradition of Welsh livestock farming. By helping farmers breed healthier, more productive flocks with a lower environmental footprint, we are strengthening food security and safeguarding our rural economy for the long term.”

José Peralta, Chief Executive of Hybu Cig Cymru, said: “The progress achieved to date reflects the commitment of farmers across Wales, the work of the Farming Connect team, and the continued financial support of the Welsh Government. Together, these provide a strong platform for the next phase.

“This next step directly supports a core priority in our new strategic plan: to develop and lead the implementation of initiatives that improve economic and environmental sustainability. We look forward to working closely with farmers to ensure they have the tools, insights and support needed to thrive in the years ahead.”

I can also turn this into a Herald-style news story if you want.