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BBC News
20-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Royal Welsh Show: Dust 'still needs to settle' on farming subsidy plans
Welsh farmers are set to be given a first indication of how much subsidy they will receive next year, as debate over a major shake up of agricultural funding the annual Royal Welsh Show gets underway in Llanelwedd, Powys, the Welsh government has published an online tool to help farmers estimate future final version of its protest-hit Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) was announced on Tuesday, to a mixed said they had "listened carefully to farmers across Wales", revising the proposals to make sure they worked for the industry as well as the environment. However, wildlife groups have warned that the scheme had been watered down, with RSPB Cymru now calling for "a clear plan" to explain how the SFS helps Wales meet its 2030 biodiversity years in the making, the SFS will replace EU-era payments for farmers, which were given largely based on how much land was farmed. Ian Rickman, president of the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW), said there was "a lot of dust still to settle" as farmers got to grips with what the new, greener scheme meant for their businesses."We're proud of the changes we have helped secure," he added, which include "workable payment rates" and the scrapping of a controversial 10% tree cover rule for he described a faster transition process, that will see farms lose 40% of their subsidy if they choose not to join the SFS immediately, as "a particularly bitter pill".RSPB Cymru will use an event on the showground at the Royal Welsh to highlight demands for Wales' environment sector, including the need for "a clear plan detailing how the SFS will contribute to meeting Wales's 2030 biodiversity targets".The charity said the National Audit Office "has identified the lack of such a plan for the equivalent English scheme as a significant flaw resulting in the poor use of public money".Further long-term funding was also needed to invest in nature-friendly farming, it added, with analysis carried out on behalf of wildlife groups putting the figure at £594m a year - approximately twice the existing rural budget. Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said the show marked "the culmination of a landmark week for Welsh agriculture".Alongside a new "ready reckoner" tool, allowing farms to calculate how much they might be offered, Irranca-Davies announced £33m for nine preparatory schemes to " back farm businesses during the transition to the new SFS"."This funding will help farmers invest in nutrient management, environmental improvements and efficiency equipment while delivering on environmental benefits like water quality and biodiversity," he of all colours are set to descend on the showground, each with competing visions for the future of rural communities ahead of May's Senedd issues set to dominate include the ongoing row over changes to inheritance tax rules for farmers, and restrictions to trade along the Welsh border as a result of bluetongue have promised to deliver a "tremendous" display of livestock, despite limits on animals from England and Scotland travelling to Llanelwedd. Sheep, cattle and goats from across the border have been banned this year as part of efforts to keep bluetongue out of livestock virus poses no risk to humans or food safety - but can have serious implications for cattle sheds are noticeably quieter, with entries down by around a third, while there will be no competitions in the goats sheep numbers have held up after places were offered to Welsh competitors on a waiting list after Scottish and English farmers were forced to pull Edwards, from Nelson, Caerphilly county, is entering a Charolais cow and calf and said the atmosphere was "a bit different"."There aren't as many cattle here - there's still a lot of sheep though and I suppose it gives all the Welsh ones a go against each other."Farmers Thomas Corbett and Emily Simpson, from Felindre in Powys, said it was a shame not have the English and Scottish cattle because "the ones that come all that way are often the good cattle and you lose the best opposition". Ms Simpson farmed in Scotland before meeting her partner at the show three years ago, and said friends there "would love to come down" but she understood why they stayed away this year."You've got to put safety first," she Rhys Jones, chief executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, said he was "really pleased with the response we've had from Welsh exhibitors".Numbers of native sheep breeds, pigs and horses were up, he emphasised."We've sympathised with exhibitors, particularly those from England and Scotland that have been coming to the show for years, and we really want to make sure that we maintain that goodwill.""Many of them are still coming this year to enjoy the show - and there'll still be a spectacle."
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Morgan wanted ‘more discussion' on fishing rights in UK-EU deal
First Minister Eluned Morgan has welcomed a new deal struck between the UK and the EU, but said she would have "like more discussion" between the Welsh and UK governments on the issue of fishing.A key part of the deal, which comes after years of disagreements over Brexit, involves giving Europe fishing boats a further 12 years of access to British waters in exchange for easing some trade said the deal offered "more opportunity for jobs and growth", something that is "going to help people pay their bills". The Farmers' Union of Wales (FAW) said it welcomed efforts "to restore relations with our nearest trading partners", while the Welsh Fisherman's Association said its views broadly aligned with the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), which said it was "very disappointed" with the deal. Responding to concerns about the deal in the fishing industry, Morgan said: "On the one hand I can understand there are some issues for them but on the other hand their ability to export is going to be much better than it was before."Asked if the Welsh government had been consulted over the effect on fishing - control of which is devolved to Wales - she said there had been talks but that she "would have liked more discussion"."We've had an idea of what's been going on the whole time but the detail wasn't finalised until the past few days," she Welsh Labour government also welcomed the agreement, with Finance Minister Rebecca Evans saying Wales "is, and always will be, a proudly outward-looking European nation".Evans said the Welsh government welcomed the Labour UK government's "commitment to re-set relations with the EU", adding that improved relations between the UK and EU created "new opportunities for enhanced security, safety and economic prosperity for citizens and businesses on both sides of the channel".The UK Conservatives and Reform UK have described the deal as a "surrender" to the EU, with UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch saying that giving the EU access to British waters for 12 years "was three times longer than the government wanted"."We're becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again," she said. Ian Rickman, president of the Farmers' Union for Wales (FUW), said he welcomed the efforts by the UK government to restore relations with the EU."The long-term security of the EU market for the trading of agri-food products should not be underestimated given the current volatility of global markets amid tensions over tariffs," he Rickman added that the FUW has raised concerns about "effective border checks on EU food imports entering the UK", and that the agreement should open the door to "ensuring that food imports and exports are subject to similar controls", creating a "level playing field" between UK and EU UK government said the deal would make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported by reducing paperwork and routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely, it return, the UK will give the EU access to its fishing waters until 2038 - a 12-year extension of arrangements already in place. The post-Brexit deal on fishing rights, which gave EU boats continued access to UK waters, was set to expire at the end of June UK government has also unveiled a £360m investment fund in coastal communities and the fishing accounts for an estimated 0.4% of UK GDP, but British control over its fishing waters was a big issue in the Brexit Welsh Fisherman's Association said it was still working through the details of the deal, but questioned how the prime minister can "commit to an agreement that extends beyond his term of office"."Whilst it us understood that international agreements are not a devolved matter they nevertheless should be the result of consultation with the relevant Welsh ministers and indeed Welsh stakeholders which explains why today's news was so shocking," they said, adding that the organisation's view broadly aligned with the NFFO said granting 12 additional years to EU boats in UK waters "surrenders the best prospect that the fishing industry and coastal communities had for growth over the coming decade".
