Powys farmers anxious about future of Tir Mynydd

As Brecon is nestled in the heart of the Welsh hills and the vast majority of Powys is classified as Less Favoured Area, Andrew Lloyd, the local County Chairman for NFU Cymru, will voice the concerns of local farmers at this year’s Brecon Show about the uncertain future of the Tir Mynydd Scheme.

Andrew Lloyd, like many other LFA farmers in the area, is anxious about the proposed cuts to the Tir Mynydd Scheme budget, he said, “It should be remembered that the beautiful world renowned landscape that we have here in mid-Wales is managed by the farmers and livestock of the less favoured areas, and without their management the landscape will deteriorate. We fear that if we lose the current budget then many local family farms will be forced to finish and we will lose population and in particular youngsters from the less favoured areas which will have a detrimental effect on rural communities.”

NFU Cymru recently met with Carwyn Jones, the Minister for the Environment, Planning and Countryside to press him to reconsider his intention to slash the Tir Mynydd budget in Wales by 33% in 2007. The Union also followed this up with meetings with agriculture leaders of the opposition parties in the Welsh Assembly.

NFU Cymru President, Dai Davies described the Minister’s announcement in May to cut £12m from Wales’ Less Favoured Area budget as a body-blow to some of Wales’ most vulnerable farmers. “It was readily and generally acknowledged that farming was crucial to the countryside and the landscape. Despite this, and even before the commencement of a task and finish group which was to be set up by the Minister next year to look at a successor scheme, their work was being pre-empted by not a minor adjustment but a catastrophic drop in the budget to deliver the scheme.”

NFU Cymru is committed to finding a workable successor scheme that delivers multiple benefits and sustains hill and upland farming but we need an adequate and reasonable budget to fund support for Wales’ most vulnerable areas.

Dai Davies said, “NFU Cymru, however, will not give up on the issue of the budget as this is non-negotiable. We still haven’t received a plausible explanation from the Minister as to where £10.6m has evaporated and we will continue to press for its reinstatement.

“The next few months are vital and we would encourage all farmers across Wales to make the most of their local shows to speak to their local Assembly Members and highlight to them the importance the scheme has on the viability of their businesses.”