NFU President puts forward policy challenges facing Welsh farmers

Speaking on the eve of the 2012 Royal Welsh Show, Ed Bailey and Stephen James, the President and Deputy President of NFU Cymru, put forward the main policy challenges currently facing Welsh farmers.

Bailey said, “Our message this year bears some comparison to the title of the spaghetti Western, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. That is, the Good that I feel farming delivers for Wales; our pro-active industry-wide farm safety campaign and the work that industry and Government can do together to get the best possible deal for Wales out of CAP Reform; then follows the Bad that is the Welsh Government bovine TB policy and finally the downright Ugly behaviour of processors and retailers to our dairy farmers.

“Throughout 2012, NFU Cymru has used every opportunity to highlight the importance of farming to both the economy and to the environment of Wales. This week we are focusing on what Farming Delivers for Wales – the theme of our latest campaign - and here are just a couple of facts to highlight what we deliver: 58,400 people worked on farms in Wales in 2011, nearly 2,000 people more than in 2009, one of the few sectors with a growing workforce; collectively agriculture and the food and drink industry annually contribute approximately £3 billion Gross added value to the Welsh economy and Welsh farmers have created and  manage a landscape which is crucial for a tourism industry worth £1.8 billion annually to the economy of Wales.

“Farming Delivers for Wales is our new campaign to highlight to the public at large the role that we play in the economy and environment of Wales. We have a positive message to tell of an industry that is growing, modern, efficient, productive and environmentally conscious. We are fortunate that this week we again have our very own Johnny Ball and his road show to help us tell our story.”

Bailey said farm safety continues to feature among the Union’s top priorities. A farm fire is a potentially devastating event. “Fire safety fits well with our Farm Safety Campaign and we will support the fire service during the show and encourage our members to request a free farm safety check,” he said.

On CAP reform, Bailey said, “This week is an important one for us in that tomorrow we have the opportunity to impress first hand on the EU Agriculture Commissioner our key priorities for Welsh farmers over CAP. I was fortunate at the NFU Conference back in February to have a working lunch with the Commissioner. At that time I found him prepared to listen and take on board our concerns over the proposed speed of transition from an historic to area based payment system; tomorrow I will again impress on him the importance of giving Wales the freedom to manage the pace of change.”

Bailey said key priorities were: a smooth and long transition period from historic to area based payments; greening measures must not impact on agriculture’s productive capacity and ability to respond to the demands of the marketplace and, Mr Bailey concluded, “We must ensure a fairer allocation of RDP funding for Wales. This must come from a re-allocation of EU RDP funds between Member states and not by moving additional resource from Pillar 1 into Pillar 2 in Wales.”

Addressing the dire problem of bovine TB, Stephen James said, “The Welsh Government decision of 20 March this year to pursue a bovine TB policy that is not backed up by evidence from scientific trials was a devastating blow to cattle farmers across Wales as opposed to following a proven method of disease control. As each week passes by and I hear of more and more herds being devastated by this disease, it only strengthens my resolve to keep pushing for a genuine bovine TB eradication strategy.”

James said it appeared that Welsh Government had bowed to pressure groups. “Across the border, DEFRA stood up to these groups and the courts delivered a verdict that will allow for a science- led policy on TB eradication to take place in England. Now that our partnership with Government on TB is effectively ‘broken’, farmers in the IAA are rightly asking why we in Wales cannot adopt a similar policy to the one used across the border,” Mr James said.

The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 is legislation that covers both England and Wales. It provides for licences to be issued to farmers to help prevent the spread of disease. Earlier this month NFU Cymru wrote to the Environment Minister for clarification on the licensing arrangements within Wales for farmers who wish to apply for a licence for the purpose of preventing the spread of bovine TB and  looks forward to receiving the Welsh Government reply.

Commenting on the crisis in the dairy sector, James said, “As dairy farmers, we have drawn a line in the sand. We will not accept the status quo and will not relent until we see fundamental changes to the way we are treated by the rest of the dairy supply chain. Dairy farmers have well and truly been sold down the river by the weak selling of milk by processors operating in the liquid milk market and by a number of our retailers -mainstream and discount – who appear to care little that their aligned producers are losing five pence on every litre of milk that they produce.

“In the short term our message is clear. The recent price cuts must be reversed by 1 August; we will continue to take part in peaceful protest, help the consumer to understand the crisis the dairy sector faces and consider what further lawful actions  need to be taken until we see positive action by those retailers buying liquid milk and who do not deliver a sustainable milk price.”

“Tomorrow, as a coalition of farming organisations (NFU Cymru, NFU, NFU Scotland, FFA, TFA and RABDF), we will meet again to review progress towards our common goals and discuss the next steps. We are united and we will not stop until we deliver for our farming members fundamental changes to the way we are treated and to ensure that measures are put in place so that this situation cannot happen again,” Mr James said.