Next generation farmers will feel valued

“The next generation of farmers will, I believe, feel valued by both the Government and the public as a result of the work they can do to save the environment,” said Paul Temple, the newly elected Vice President of the NFU whilst addressing NFU Cymru’s Welsh Council meeting earlier this week.

Mr Temple, a mixed arable and livestock farmer from East Yorkshire, said, “When I was going through agriculture college in the 70s I was taught to keep producing more but the language has changed as a result of CAP reform and I do think that the next generation of farmers will feel more valued because of the work they could do to combat climate change by producing bio-fuels.”

The production of bio-fuels will give farmers a new market potential, Mr Temple told NFU Cymru members during the meeting held in Builth Wells. He believes that crops such as miscanthus could offer new market opportunities to any type of farmer and said farmers now have a choice when it comes to what they want to produce. He said, “Bio fuel crops have given us a new market without any market tension, but, with food processors lobbying against bio-fuels there is pressure on this fledling market.”

During the meeting Dai Davies, NFU Cymru President and a dairy farmer from St Clears Carmarthenshire, shared Mr Temple’s concerns for the current state of the milk industry and agreed that it was the most pressing problem facing the agriculture industry at present.

Dairy farmers from across Wales, who sit on NFU Cymru’s Welsh Council, agreed with both speakers and some admitted that they would be looking at their own businesses shortly to see if it was worth continuing in the future.

Members present also questioned the recent decision by Government to supply schools with skimmed and semi-skimmed milk rather than whole milk. Edward Chapman, Welsh Council delegate for Montgomeryshire said, “The nutritional benefits of whole mile are invaluable and should not be denied to school children. Whole milk should be included among the dairy products permitted in schools as it provides calcium, protein and other nutrients which will assist children in achieving a balanced diet.”