Meeting looks to the future of farming
NFU Cymru President, Dai Davies, Professor Gareth Edwards-Jones from Bangor University and Bryn Edmunds from HSBC Bank were guest speakers at a recent meeting of the Mid Gwynedd NFU Cymru branch.
The well attended meeting was held at Ynysgain Fawr, Criccieth, the farm of County Chairman John Gwynant Hughes. Members attending were free to question the Chairman on his farm policy and view the top quality Ynysgain dairy herd.
Dai Davies said, “Coming to a farm such as Ynysgain Fawr reinforces NFU Cymru’s commitment to ensuring a fair deal for Welsh dairy farmers. This farm, like many others in Wales produces top quality milk yet receives a pittance of a price per litre. Such prices are unsustainable in the long term and the processors and retailers of milk in the UK need to be aware of this.
“The Chairman’s son, Siôn has now left school and will shortly be attending Glynllifon Agricultural College. Let’s hope that the milk price when he leaves college will be high enough to make it attractive for him to want to join the family business.”
Professor Gareth Edwards Jones who is a member of the Welsh Assembly Government’s 2020 group - a Stakeholder Group set up to inform the Assembly on longer term options for supporting the sustainability of farming and the countryside - looked further ahead.
He said, “In the next decade there will be an increasing emphasis on biomass and biofuels which will require land currently used for food production. As a result, there will be fewer acres available to produce food. This will potentially lead to an increase in primary producer prices, if the food supply base becomes smaller.
“Also, as a result of climate change water will become a scarce commodity in drier areas of the World. As the World warms up and areas become arid they will be economically unsuitable for food production. Northern Hemisphere food production will gradually shift northwards which will increase the opportunities and range of crops that can be grown successfully in the UK”
Mr Bryn Edmunds, Agriculture Manager with HSBC bank added, “Farmers should not only be aware of the current strengths and weaknesses of their own business but they will need to make decisions based on what is happening at European and World stage.
“By attending meetings such as this one, they will at least be in a better position to make informed choices on the future direction of their businesses.”
