NFU Cymru takes to the streets of Brussels to express sheep farmers concerns

NFU Cymru Deputy President, John Davies, is out in Brussels today to express the concerns of Welsh sheep farmers to European decision makers. Mr Davies, who farms a flock of 1,000 ewes in Merthyr Cynog, near Brecon, today joins the High Level Reflection Group on sheep.

Mr Davies was invited to take a seat on the forum, which was established last year by Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan. The group will look at issues affecting the sheep meat sector and will issue recommendations for action by the end of this year. Creating the sheep-specific group was a key part of the NFU’s ten-point plan for action during last summer’s commodity crisis.

Europe’s 85 million sheep flock contributes enormously to the economic wellbeing and vitality of rural areas – around €5.2 billion euros last year. But after the consistently low lamb prices seen last year NFU Cymru has been calling for urgent and innovative action to arrest the poor returns seen by many producers.

One of John’s priorities will be to challenge the strong competition Welsh farmers face from outside the EU. Mr Davies said, “New Zealand has a fixed EU quota of 228,000 tonnes. We believe that the move from frozen to fresh, and from carcases to bone in cuts represents a substantive change in the trade since the original agreement in the 1980s and this change is having an effect on the UK and EU sheep market.

“I will also call for the European Union to set up a clear and transparent deadweight pricing system, ensuring that we have the most accurate market data available. A transparent grading and dressing specification system – such as the one which already operates in the beef sector – should be created to ensure we have reliable scrutiny.”

Mr Davies concluded, “Above all I will urge European policy makers to prioritise simple common sense. NFU Cymru is calling for regulators to introduce tolerance into inspections system so that farmers are not penalised for minor errors such as ear tag reading failures or the odd missing record or ear tag.”