Latest news with #SustainableFarmingScheme
Leader Live
4 days ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Farmers Union of Wales reacts to Sustainable Farming Scheme
Last week, the Welsh Government published the final version of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). This Scheme will be the primary mechanism through which farm businesses in Wales will be able to apply for farm support from 2026 onwards as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is phased out over the coming years. Since the initial Brexit and Our Land consultation in 2018, the FUW, its officials and staff have invested a remarkable amount of resources into lobbying, negotiating and challenging the Welsh Government in order to try and secure a workable Scheme for the future of our thriving, sustainable family farms and food production across Wales. We can assure FUW members and the wider agricultural community that we left no stone unturned over the past seven years in our ambition to secure a viable post-Brexit farm support framework. We therefore welcome key successes, including securing a total budget for the Universal Baseline Payment and BPS taper combined of £238 million, providing workable payment rates and much needed stability for the sector. This includes the provision of universal payments for common land rights holders. Our lobbying efforts have also retained and strengthened the application of capped and redistributive payments, a longstanding policy position for the FUW and one that maximises the amount of money going to typical Welsh family farms and rural communities. However, we accept that the Scheme is not perfect. The 10% habitat Scheme Rule will be a concern for many as will the Scheme-level ambition to plant 17,000 hectares of trees by 2030. The shorter BPS transition will also be a bitter pill, with the BPS payment now falling to 60% in 2026 and reducing by 20% per year thereafter. We have been consistent in our calls for the BPS transition to follow five equal reductions starting at 80% in 2026 as was initially proposed by the Welsh Government. This Scheme will be different to what we have historically considered as direct farm support or subsidies. I therefore urge all Welsh farmers to consider the Scheme requirements and payment rates in the context of your own businesses. Whether farmers decide to enter the SFS at any point in the future, or continue with the tapering BPS and operate without farm support thereafter, the FUW is here to support you and your businesses throughout the transition period and beyond.
Powys County Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Badenoch says Conservatives need time to recover in Powys
Kemi Badenoch said that it would take time for the Conservatives to bounce back in Powys after their 'historic defeat' last year. In an interview with the County Times, the leader of the Conservative Party addressed the issues facing the party after the fallout of the last election which saw Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams lose the party whip then the seat amid a betting scandal. 'I am working to rebuild trust with the public,' said Mrs Badenoch. 'We have acknowledged a lot of mistakes were made. That is why we lost the last election. It takes time to come back from an historic defeat like that. 'What people can see is that Labour may have won the election but they have no plans at all. All of the things they are doing are making things worse, it's not just the family farms tax. "You look at unemployment it has gone up every single month since Labour came into office, inflation has nearly doubled since the Conservatives left, growth is down – that is a real problem.' Mrs Badenoch was at the show to meet the Welsh agricultural community ahead of next year's Senedd elections and local elections in 2027. This came the week after the announcement of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) by the Welsh Government which would see 10 percent of land being used to boost natural habitats. When questioned by the County Times about the policy Mrs Badenoch said: 'I don't know about the 10 per cent but I do know having spoken to Welsh Conservatives is that they don't believe that what Labour is putting in is going to be enough. 'They believe there is an extra £100 million that could be invested in the SFS and that is what I support.' Help support trusted local news Sign up for a digital subscription now: As a digital subscriber you will get Unlimited access to the County Times website Advert-light access Reader rewards Full access to our app MP for the area David Chadwick criticised Mrs Badenoch and said the Conservatives were no longer the 'party of the countryside'. 'Welsh farmers won't forget how Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives sold them down the river when she was International Trade Secretary for catastrophic trade deals with Australia and New Zealand,' said Mr Chadwick. 'That's part of the reason the Conservatives lost this seat at the general election.'
North Wales Live
22-07-2025
- General
- North Wales Live
Thousands of stiles could start disappearing from the Welsh countryside
Stiles, so long a staple of the Welsh countryside, could start disappearing under a new financial support scheme for farmers. Landowners can choose to remove them, or replace them with gates, to improve public access to farmland. The Welsh Government hopes this will enable more people to 'enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of exploring nature and our farmed environment'. Removing stiles is among the many options farmers can choose to implement under the industry's new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). Published on July 15, and seven years in the making, the controversial scheme offers greener farm subsidies in return for carrying out environmental work. Other options include installing seats at viewpoints, and erecting information boards. Theses boards could describe local landscape feaures or deliver educational messages, such as the importance of closing gates. Thousands of stiles – steps or ladders over fences and walls – are thought to remain in Wales, though in recent years some have been replaced with kissing gates. Many are iconic features of stone and wire boundaries in Eryri National Park and along the Wales Coast Path. By improving access on farms, ministers say there will be 'fewer barriers to people enjoying the outdoors safely'. Better on-farm signage will also enhance visitor experiences and reinforce messages about the responsible use of the countryside. Farmers can choose to remove stiles only where livestock security is no longer needed – more likely on the hills. Despite this, workshop surveys found that, among Welsh farmers, increasing public access was one of the scheme's least popular goals. Although billed as a way of educating the public about farming, half of all landowners said they would baulk at the idea. A report by ICF Consulting Services noted widespread alarm about the potential for public misbehaviour on farms if they were opened up. It said: 'Strong concerns were raised around biosecurity and negative behaviour associated with greater public access such as fly tipping, increases in rural crime and hare coursing, cutting fences, dogs (and) noisy motorised vehicles.' Neither is Aberconwy Senedd Member Janet Finch-Saunders a fan of the concept. 'The removal of stiles on footpaths could open up farms to the risk of damage from illegal scramble biking, causing additional issues to farmers,' she said. Previous versions of the scheme included proposals to pay farmers for creating new paths. The Ramblers had wanted the SFS to go further, funding farmers to repair existing paths. By excluding this as a scheme option, the group said it was a 'missed opportunity' for the unblocking of 'thousands of miles of routes' in unusable or poor condition. Similarly, the Open Spaces Society had wanted farm funding to be provided only if all rights of way and access were 'in good order'. As a basic SFS requirement, landowners will be expected to continue complying with existing legislation that provides the public with some access to farmland. These include the Public Rights of Way and Countryside Rights of Way (CRoW) Acts. In 2022 Lesley Griffiths, then Rural Affairs Minister, said the scheme's aim was to increase the proportion of public rights of way that are 'open, easy to use and well signed' beyond the legal requirements. With over two thirds of public rights of way in Wales on farmland, the SFS would 'allow farmers to contribute further to our nation's health and prosperity, whilst also providing greater access to our cultural and heritage rural areas', she added. Although the SFS is expected to go live on January 1, 2026, last-minute tweaks are not expected to be finalised until the autumn.
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."
South Wales Argus
19-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Farmers in Wales to receive annual payment in new scheme
The Sustainable Farming Scheme, which launches on January 1, aims to deliver stability and long-term support for sustainable food production while tackling the climate and nature emergencies. Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy first minister with responsibility for climate change and rural affairs, said: "We've listened carefully to farmers across Wales and revised our approach to ensure it works for the agricultural industry and meets our shared responsibilities to the natural world around us. "We've listened, and we'll continue to listen. "It's clear that the people of Wales want us to back Welsh farming, but they also want to see nature restored, soils protected, water quality in our rivers improved, access to the countryside maintained and nature supported to recover and thrive." Farmers who join the scheme will receive an annual Universal Payment if they meet the scheme requirements, which include a set of Universal Actions. The scheme is designed to be less complex than previous schemes, with fewer administrative requirements, and builds on the established systems of Rural Payments Wales. It supports all types of farming, including beef, dairy, arable, upland, lowland, extensive, and intensive.
