No Farmers, No Food

Introduce yourself: My name is Ernie Richards, and I am a first generation shepherd, working for Stuart and Helen Morris, on their upland sheep farm, near Clyro.We run a high health status closed Flock of 1000 Pedigree Lleyn Ewes annually producing up to 400 pure bred breeding yearlings, and finishing all ram lambs via deadweight to Farmers Fresh.

In simple terms, please can you let our readers know why farmers receive subsidies? Farmers receive subsidies or more recently known as support payments to ensure the food they produce is affordable and readily available for the general public. It ensures farm businesses are viable to sustain high husbandry, and crop practices to guarantee quality, sustainably produced food.

When and how are subsidies going to change for Welsh farmers? Changes are due to be put into place from January 2025.This is when a new proposed scheme called the Sustainable Farming Scheme is supposed to be introduced.This scheme will replace the current format of payment, which is area based. Farmers will have the option to start the new proposed scheme in 2025, or carry on with the current Basic Payment Scheme but on a tapering amount over 5 years when it will disappear. The new sustainable farming scheme focuses on environmental factors, rather than food production.

What does that mean for you as a local farmer? The reduction of payments means we will have to analyse our farming system to see how we can move forward without support payments. On a local level, in general terms,every £1 invested in farming businesses,generates £9 to the wider local economy, and rural area. Failure to support farmers correctly could have a significant impact on the local economy, and will reduce the amount of rural families in the area.This would have negative effects on,schools,shops,pubsandalllocalservices.

Will you be planting 10% of your land with trees and making 10% for wildlife habitats to receive this subsidy? We currently don’t have enough tree cover to meet the 10% mandator y requirement, and would struggle to make the target without planting trees on productive land, which would reduce the production capacity of our farm, ultimately reducing livestock numbers, and reducing the lambs we produce.

The habitat requirement is unworkable, meaning it would create a lot of barriers to keep livestock on the farm. Creating habitats on the farm is crucial, but it’s important to remember that the countryside looks so beautiful because of how farmers have managed the environment and the landscape, so it shouldn’t be changed.

If you had a say in government, what rule would you put in place to help the environment? People should be encouraged to generate their own electricity using solar panels, and think how they shop. Buying local, seasonal produce is a good way to support farmers and safeguard the future of Welsh farming families in our rural communities.

Going forward, is there anything our readers can do to help? Buy local, and support local farmers! Try to encourage people to engage with farmers, to have a better understanding of where their food comes from. Education is key, and getting the future generations connected with the countryside is so crucial.

Introduce yourself: Kevin Milward. Beef, sheep and arable farm in Llowes on the Powys border.

In simple terms, please can you let our readers know why farmers receive subsidies? Farmers receive subsidies to keep the cost of food down for the consumer.The shop price is not a true reflection of the cost of production. Without subsidies the consumer would be charged the full cost and the price of food would be considerably higher.

When and how are subsidies going to change for Welsh farmers? The current subsidies are to be gradually phased out over the next 5 years.The government are hoping to replace this with the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

What does that mean for you as a local farmer? This means a substantial loss of income for many local farmers, in an industry that already struggles to make ends meet. It creates uncertainty for future generations who hope to continue or enter into the industry. Giving up 20% of our land will result in lower livestock numbers and crop area in Wales and an increase in imported food!

Will you be planting 10% of your land with trees and making 10% for wildlife habitats to receive this subsidy? In short, no! We don’t believe that farmed land should be taken out of production and replaced with trees or habitat. In our time as custodians of this farm, myself and my forefathers have created 6 ponds, fenced off areas of unproductive land, planted trees, installed nest boxes and created an inviting habitat for an array of wildlife. All this at our own cost, without reducing productive land and long before climate change became a known issue. It is common for us to see hares, curlews and lapwings on our managed grassland, as well as Canadian geese, moorhens and otters on the ponds we have created, all living side by side with our livestock and crops. We have always farmed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way whilst ensuring the nation is fed.

If you had a say in government, what rule would you put in place to help the environment? If I could put in place one rule to help the environment it would be to limit unnecessary air travel. Whether this be leisure or freight. Having only traveled abroad once in my lifetime my carbon footprint is considerably lower than most!

Going forward, is there anything our readers can do to help? Support British farmers,buy local,buy seasonal, and try to spend time on a farm to truly understand where your food comes from and the enormous effort and passion that goes into producing it.

Introduce yourself: Kevin Jones. Our farm is nearTalgarth.We are a family farm producing beef and sheep and grow crops for our animals.

In simple terms, please can you let our readers know why farmers receive subsidies? Farmers used to receive money from the European government to invest in the farm to produce food at or below the cost of production.This meant its citizens could have cheap affordable food.

When and how are subsidies going to change for Welsh farmers? When we left the European Union the devolved nations took responsibility for the way agriculture was managed.The Welsh Government are now on their third attempt to develop a workable system. But their environmental policies are being put ahead of food, which is why farmers are not happy.We want a balanced approach.

What does that mean for you as a local farmer? As a local farmer that is proud to rear animals in a renowned part of the UK for producing quality livestock. The Welsh Government is trying to treat every part of Wales the same way,instead of working with farmers. Every farm is different and can help with environmental goals in different ways. Some large areas of less productive land that could be used for habitats, while more productive land can be left to produce food and other crops.They want to treat each farm individually so if they don’t have any woodland they will be expected to plant productive land that can grow crops.While unproductive land on another farm with enough trees doesn’t need to do anything and still can’t grow crops.

Will you be planting 10% of your land with trees and making 10% for wildlife habitats to receive this subsidy? I have several woodlands which I use for shelter for my animals in the summer and winter. Under the proposed systemtheywouldpaytokeepthewoodlandbutthis would reclassify the land and devalue the land. It would not be agricultural anymore which has huge financial problems. Also the rules are very restrictive even for hedgerows. The science is changing and it is widely accepted that managed grassland can absorb more C02 than trees, especially young trees.

If you had a say in government, what rule would you put in place to help the environment? Use Welsh food more in hospitals, schools and other public facilities. Less food miles will always be better for the environment. Seasonal and sustainable food.

Going forward, is there anything our readers can do to help? We are fortunate to have many local farm shops and farmers markets. This helps the local economy. They provide a variety of different products that are produced to high standards and quality. While looking after the environment is very important, if farms are not profitable the beautiful landscape that is managed by farmers will disappear.

Introduce yourself: Jethro Small. My wife and I are tenant hill sheep farmers near Brecon.

In simple terms, please can you let our readers know why farmers receive subsidies? Food production comes at huge costs, now more than ever before. Welsh farmers are producing food to the highest standards, whilst also protecting the environment. Subsidies paid to farmers enable the price of food in the shops to be kept lower than the ‘real’ cost of production. Without these payments, food prices would need to be even higher than they are today, to enable the cost to be covered.The sad fact is, that a large percentage of farmers rely on these payments to make any profit, if you were to consider the amount of hours put in to the farming calendar, even with subsidies, farmers are working below minimum wage! For every £1 that is paid in subsidies to Welsh farmers, between £8 and £9 is put back into the economy. Farming supports a huge range of other rural businesses whilst fulfilling its role in producing quality food.

When and how are subsidies going to change for Welsh farmers? The new ‘Sustainable Farming Scheme’ (currently under consultation) has, understandably, caused huge concern amongst all Welsh farming communities. A farmers asset is the land, this is how they make their living. In order to join the new scheme and receive any payment,ALL farms MUST have 10% of the land planted with trees and 10% habitat, this land will no longer be productive for the farm business (essentially immediately reducing farm income potential by 20%). Added to this, every farm MUST comply with 17 ‘universal actions’ these include compulsory ponds, continuous professional development, many layers of KPI (key performance indicator) benchmarking, increased legislation in animal welfare/health and bio security, and many more.There is already an unbelievable amount of red tape and paperwork in this area! Once land is classed as habitat for this scheme, it can never be reverted back into productive land (i.e ploughed/reseeded or cultivated) this is a huge concern for landowners. Farmers who choose NOT to join the scheme, will forfeit their payments to zero on a 5 year sliding scale! (80/60/40/20/0%).

What does that mean for you as a local farmer? This scheme is totally unworkable for farmers, it not only REDUCES productivity, but INCREASES workload and INCREASES costs! Yet proposals suggest that there will be LESS payment for doing so. As a tenant farmer, profits are already marginal, both my wife and I already have second jobs to sustain our income. It has taken 24 years for us to build up our business to where we are now.This scheme, if unchanged will probably mean that we will have to give it all up, as it will not be worthwhile for us to rent the farm.This also means that our children will not have the opportunity to farm either.

Will you be planting 10% of your land with trees and making 10% for wildlife habitats to receive this subsidy? Over the past 20 years, we have entered several optional environmental schemes (Tir Goval & Glastir), throughout this time we have planted 6 - 8000 trees through hedgerow creation, maintained habitat land and ungrazed woodlands.These were good schemes that worked with farmers and rewarded them fairly for doing so.

The new scheme threatens to undo much of the good environmental work that has been done, for the simple fact that to join, it lowers income, increases work and costs and devalues the farmers assets.What business would sign such a contract?! It is a disaster for the agricultural industry, food security and the Welsh economy.We will not be joining the scheme.

If you had a say in government, what rule would you put in place to help the environment? If the government wish to move away from farm subsidies, they first must regulate supermarkets, the farmer must get a fair price for the food they produce. Legislate imported food with lower welfare and hygiene standards than our own. Local food is surely better for the environment than flying it in from all around the world!? Stop the mass sewage pollution from water treatment companies.

Going forward, is there anything our readers can do to help? The public need to support their local farmers, butchers, bakers, local farm shops etc...look at what you are buying, look where it comes from. Tell your supermarket, you want Welsh products.