Beef and sheep farmers in Wales are being urged to complete a short survey to highlight the many challenges currently facing the red meat sector.
The purpose of the annual ‘farmer intentions survey’ is to assess the impact of challenges on farm businesses in Wales and to understand their future business plans.
Rising inflation and increasing farm input costs have significantly challenged the sector in recent years and made decision-making more complicated for farmers.
To better understand these issues, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has compiled a survey to assess the current situation, the third of its kind.
The results of the first survey, in 2022, showed that worries around farm input costs were high, and it was feared that low scanning rates, as a result of bad weather, would impact on flock numbers in the following year.
However, 2023 survey results revealed that pressures on Welsh flock numbers had lifted slightly, and that farmer fears over input costs had eased - a considerable improvement in producer intentions.
HCC’s intelligence executive, Glesni Phillips said of the new survey: “It allows us to gather up-to-date information and build a sector-wide picture of the challenges that farmers face and how these vary from year to year.
“In order to continue with this research, we would like to see farmers from across Wales completing the new survey so that we can explore the latest challenges within the sector and consider how farmers’ intentions are likely to impact the future.
"This will help us, and the wider industry, to prepare and produce forecasts for the year ahead on stocking levels and the availability of red meat for consumers.”
The online survey can be accessed for two weeks until 23 September.
Producers will then be entered into a draw for a chance of winning a £50 meat voucher.
