The future of the agricultural industry in Pembrokeshire was at the forefront of discussions during a recent meeting of Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru officeholders, with Stephen Crabb MP and Paul Davies AM for Preseli Pembrokeshire held on-farm at Cilgwyn Mawr, Newport courtesy of Andrew Lewis and family.
During the discussion local farmers questioned the politicians on their views on a diverse range of issues that are currently affecting the industry such as CAP reform, Bovine TB, and local planning issues.
The potential impact of Common Agricultural Policy reform on the agricultural sector in Pembrokeshire was a prominent topic of discussion in the meeting. Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru County Chairman Mansel Raymond said, “Impending changes to the CAP could have a significant impact on our farming businesses in Pembrokeshire. I cannot stress how important the direct support that’s currently delivered to farming through Pillar 1 of the CAP is to the Pembrokeshire economy and these payments are vital to buttress against the volatility of our supply chains.
“We know that cuts to the overall CAP budget will be forthcoming as a result of the EU budget settlement and are inevitable in the current economic climate in Europe. However, I’m also concerned that our Governments could potentially move funds away from Pillar 1 and into Rural Development programmes in Pillar 2. Our level of support per hectare is
already one of the lowest in the European Union and any further shift of support could have a major impact on our competitiveness vis-à-vis our European counterparts.”
Commenting on the problems caused by Bovine TB, Mansel Raymond said, “Bovine TB is one of the biggest threats to the future viability of the dairy and beef sectors in Pembrokeshire. I’m heartened by the recent endorsement by the majority of MPs in Westminster of the UK government’s comprehensive eradication strategy in England, which includes two pilot badger culls. However it also puts into sharp focus the failure of the Welsh Government to deliver a comprehensive policy to help eradicate Bovine TB from our cattle herds in Wales.”
Mr Raymond added, “The Welsh Government’s decision to go ahead with an unproven and costly badger vaccination programme in the North Pembrokeshire Intensive Action Area, rather than a cull of badgers continues to be a source of anger and frustration to many farmers, especially in this corner of Wales. As cattle farmers we continue to adhere to stringent rules that include routine surveillance, testing and slaughter of suspect cattle as well as compliance with pre-movement testing of cattle. As farmers we also maintain good husbandry and biosecurity practices on our farms and we’ve also seen further tightening of controls and movement restrictions which are impacting heavily on our businesses and yet the TB situation on our farms in Pembrokeshire is getting worse. If the Welsh Government genuinely wants to eradicate the disease then I fully expect them to look closely at the pilot badger culls in England. If these prove that a cull can be implemented successfully then I’d expect the Welsh Government to be prepared to learn from this and adopt a similar strategy in Wales.”
The difficulties for business development created by local authority planners, in particular to the growth of small scale on-farm renewable energy creation, was also a hot topic of discussion. Commenting on local planning issues Mansel Raymond added, “We need to see
significant reform of existing planning regulations as these are often a barrier to development and investment in farming and on-farm renewable energy projects. A sympathetic and consistent planning regime is required in Pembrokeshire to ensure that young people are encouraged to stay in our rural communities to help drive the local economy forward and ensure that our communities remain sustainable in the future.”
Mr Raymond concluded, “I’m grateful to Mr Crabb and Mr Davies for meeting with us and giving us the opportunity to share our concerns about the future of the agricultural industry in the county. It is absolutely vital that our MPs and AMs understand that decisions made in Westminster and Cardiff Bay have a huge impact on farming businesses and rural communities in areas such as Pembrokeshire and we look to our locally elected representatives to work with us to ensure a bright future for our industry.”
