World

World Welsh Govt under pressure

WELSH farmers are looking to the Senedd elections as their last-ditch hope to change or repeal Labour’s controversial water regulations. With polls predicting the party could be on course for its worst performance in history, and the next two largest parties – the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru – pledging to scrap the rules, there is cautious optimism that a shift in approach could come after the vote on May 6.

Glamorganshire dairy farmer and chair of the NFU Cymru milk board Abi Reader told Farmers Guardian the industry’s hope and aim was for the plans, which introduce closed periods for slurry spreading and greater storage requirements, to be revisited.

“I am hoping there will be an opportunity for resolution, especially if there is some sort of reshuffle. Even if it is the same party but different people with different ideas, I hope they will take this seriously,” Reader said.

Farmers’ Union of Wales president Glyn Roberts also said he was “encouraged” by Welsh Conservative and Plaid Cymru promises to reverse the rules.

“We continue to stress that the next Welsh Government must withdraw the regulations,” Roberts said.

“It is imperative that a new Welsh Government considers the financial implications of these regulations on small and mediumsized farm businesses and tenant farmers, while taking into account the social and cultural impacts on rural communities.”

Roberts’ call came as NFU Cymru launched a legal challenge against the rules, having previously raised concerns about their lawfulness.

“An all-Wales Nitrate Vulnerable Zone designation is indiscriminate and punitive,” The union’s president John Davies said.

“It will affect every sector, every area of Wales and every farmer will be subject to draconian record keeping and complex restrictions on the day-to-day running of their business for environmental benefits which appear to be quite small.

“That is why, along with our lawyers, legal panel firm JCP Solicitors and with support from our legal assistance scheme, we have decided to ask the courts of law to look at these regulations and determine if they are reasonable or not.”

Montgomeryshire livestock farmer Rhodri Jones says he hoped NFU Cymru’s action would put pressure on the Welsh government to change course.

“It would seem to a layperson that there are some grounds which would stand a chance of success at Judicial Review. But we need to wait and see what happens,” Jones said.

Jones also raised concerns about the new total nitrogen limit of 170kg organic manure/ha introduced by the regulations. This cap includes all manure spread or deposited by an animal.

“They buy-in silage for the dry period, but instead we might now have to look for ground to make that silage or get rid of the slurry, which means less income or more cost,” he said.

“Just as with the lack of geographical differentiation, there is also a failure to appreciate the different systems and their risks.

“The limit creates a de facto stocking rate cap which is pretty low. We would sometimes buyin silage for the dry period, but instead we might now have to look for ground to make that silage or get rid of the slurry, which means less income or more cost.

“Just as with the lack of geographical differentiation, there is also a failure to appreciate the different systems and their risks.”

UK Farmers Guardian

UPSET: Both NFU Cymru and Farmers’ Union of Wales have slammed the proposed all-Wales NVZ.

It will affect every sector, every area of Wales and every farmer will be subject to draconian record keeping and complex restrictions on the day-to-day running of their business for environmental benefits which appear to be quite small.

John Davies NFU

UK eyes global domination

AS AN independent trading nation, the UK is opening new doors for farmers and food producers to golden opportunities.

“We are now free to secure new customers worldwide, from the Americas to the Indo-Pacific, where the largest markets are to be found, and fast-growing nations are rising up the economic league tables,” International trade secretary Liz Truss shared in her vision for a more outward-looking UK agriculture, capitalising on the opportunities the global market presents.

“We exported nearly £24b worth of food and drink in 2019. Our exports to non-EU nations grew that year by over three times as much as exports to our European neighbours, which shows where the enormous potential lies,” she said.

“It is vital, when only one in five food producers export, that many more join them in seizing the opportunities beyond our shores.

Truss says “now is the time for our farmers, and food and drink producers, to grow their businesses further through exporting”.

She says the UK’s plan is to drive forward an export-led and jobs-led recovery, supporting over 4m high-quality jobs in our food and drink industries.

“Many want the finest food and drink, underpinned by high standards from food and animal welfare to the environment – exactly what British producers offer,” she said.

The Department for International Trade has been breaking down trade barriers through negotiations, as it strikes deals with huge consumer markets, like Japan, to secure much more than it had before.

Truss says they will go further to level up the UK by supporting farmers in every region and nation, whether it be by pursuing deeper access in key markets for Devon’s dairy, securing official recognition for more iconic goods like Armagh Bramley Apples, or negotiating to cut tariffs on Scotch Whisky.

“I want to see a long-term sustainable future for British farming, based on high standards, competitiveness and productivity, which meets the growing demand for our world-class produce,” she said.

“Together, we can get British food and drink to the top of the world’s menus. We will build back better for our rural communities, with more high-paying jobs, greater prosperity and brighter futures.

“By stepping through new doors, we will embrace a world rich in opportunity.”

UK Farmers Weekly

Genetics point to resilient stock

PINPOINTING genes relating to variations in milk production could help breed animals resilient to warming conditions, new research has shown.

Scientists from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), the Roslin Institute and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in Greece, found that some Chios sheep in the Mediterranean – whose milk is used to produce feta and other cheeses – are more resilient than others to temperature fluctuations throughout the seasons.

Researchers believe groups of genes may enable some sheep to remain productive in hot and cold conditions.

They believe that selecting animals with those genes for breeding could help flocks adapt in the region, which is vulnerable to climate change.

Using data relating to almost 40,000 ewes, collected by the “Macedonia” Chios sheep breeders’ co-operative in Greece, the scientists created a mathematical model of resilience to fluctuations in climate, based on records of milk productivity, time of lambing and weather throughout the seasons.

Some animals responded better than others to temperature fluctuations in hot or cold conditions, with some hardly being affected by changes, analyses found.

Ewes’ resilience to hot or cold temperatures depended on the lambing season. For example, animals that had lambed in spring generally responded better to hot conditions, while winter-lambing ewes showed the most variable performance when temperatures rose.

Researchers say future studies could focus on specific genes associated with resilience to temperature fluctuations in individual animals, with the insight being used to inform how to optimise breeding selection for this trait.

“Our findings have implications for selectively breeding animals with genes that enable resilience to changing climates and for farm management, such as the time of year when ewes are bred,” Georgios Banos, from SRUC and the Roslin Institute, said.

The study, published in scientific reports, was carried out within the Horizon 2020 research project, Innovation for Sustainable Sheep and Goat Production in Europe, coordinated by the Laboratory of Animal Husbandry, School of Veterinary Medicine.