Government and policymakers should get out on farms more and look at the work producers are doing, a prominent Welsh farmer has said on St David's Day.
Gareth Wyn Jones is laying down the gauntlet to Mark Drakeford and the rest of the Welsh government if they are to secure a brighter future for the nation.
He was speaking to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) in a special St David's Day broadcast to raise awareness for the work being done by Welsh farmers.
“Agriculture is a big part of Wales”, announced Gareth, who has lived all his life at his North Wales farm, Ty’n Llwyfan.
Nestled amongst the Carneddau mountains, his family have managed the upland farm for 375 years and it’s clear the connection runs deep.
“You cannot farm this land without being part of it”, he told GWCT conservationist Lee Oliver, before urging policymakers to “get out on farms and talk to individuals.”
Gareth is one of 22 farmers who came together in 2006 to Aber and Llanfairfechan Graziers Society PLC, working together to decide what’s best for the area they are custodians of.
The changes have been remarkable: “We’re seeing black grouse coming back, red kites came back and where the ponies are grazing, they’re drawing in invertebrates and feeding birds like choughs."
Despite this, and Gareth’s increasing media presence, not a single politician has come to see what the collaboration has achieved.
While his family is almost as much as a part of the hillside as its 200 acres of ancient woodland, he is fighting hard to ensure a better future for those coming into the profession.
He is deeply concerned about the need to get decisions right. “We are at a massive turning point," Gareth said.
"There’s a lot of peer pressure to stop livestock farming, but it’s about balance.
"We have to bring the next generation on this land with a fair price for what they’re producing and a fair price for what they’re protecting.”
