The new NFU Cymru Presidential team has held its first meeting with the government to outline its concerns surrounding Brexit, amongst other issues.
It follows news of John Davies, a beef and sheep farmer from Powys unanimously elected to become the new President of NFU Cymru.
The first meeting was held with Lesley Griffiths AM, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, and Hannah Blythyn AM, Minister for the Environment.
The meeting provided newly elected NFU Cymru President and Deputy President, Aled Jones the opportunity to set out their key priorities for the coming year to help work towards the union’s vision of a "productive, progressive and profitable" Welsh farming industry.
Mr Davies thanked the Cabinet Secretary and Minister for their willingness to engage with the farming industry and stressed the willingness of NFU Cymru to work in partnership with Welsh Government, wherever possible, on finding solutions to the challenges and realising the opportunities the industry faces going forward.
NFU Cymru President John Davies said: “Farming families do so much to support rural communities, and to protect and support our culture, language, the environment and economy of Wales.
“In the context of Brexit we have a great opportunity, through working together on future agricultural policy, to continue to grow our contribution to Welsh society and to market Wales as a country that produces products of the highest quality based around a strong natural asset base.”
Water quality
In addition to looking at the opportunities that Brexit provides to shape and develop future policy, the NFU Cymru team raised some of the immediate issues facing the agriculture industry.
This includes a recent announcement by the Cabinet Secretary on water quality a key priority for NFU Cymru.
NFU Cymru Deputy President Aled Jones said: “We welcomed the decision by the Cabinet Secretary at the end of last year to work with stakeholders to explore further options to safeguard water quality in Wales.
“At NFU Cymru we are absolutely committed to working with Government, NRW and everyone with an interest in water quality to deliver practical and workable solutions.
“Our newly established NFU Cymru water quality group has already met to begin the process of mapping out actions that we will take, and actions that we hope that others will take, to support the industry to deliver improvements in water quality across Wales.”
Bovine TB
Mr Davies also highlighted the concerns consistently raised by members over the impact of bovine TB on farming businesses and farming families.
He added: “The recognition last year by the Cabinet Secretary of the role that diseased badgers play in some chronic herd breakdowns and the need to break the cycle of infection between badgers and wildlife is a step forward in tackling this disease.
“I hope that in 2018 we can take the steps required to make meaningful progress to deliver our shared aim of healthy cattle and healthy wildlife.”
