walesfarmer.co.uk IN THIS ISSUE
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Farming news and views in Wales
July 2012
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Poke for pig producers
pages 18-19
YFCs take to the stage
PRODUCERS who pay more attention to market demands and seek ways to innovate will be able to ride out the challenges and unlock the potential of the pig, poultry meat and egg sectors, visitors to the 2012 British Pig and Poultry Fair were told. Rising input costs, cheap imports and aweakening euro means producers are facing more pressures than ever before. But Karen McQuade of the UK Food Hall said British producers could create an innovative product which customers could not get elsewhere and were willing to pay a higher price for. ■ News from the fair, page 12
LowGlastir take-up sparks fundingcut
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pages 22-23 THE funding levels of agri- environment schemes in Wales could be cut by 20%
■ Csadf under
SUDOKU Welsh
Government proposals. Deputy farming minister,Alun
Davies,sayshewants the agri- environment slice of Rural Development Plan (RDP) fund- ing to be reduced to 60% from its current levelof80%. The minister wants flexibility
in the RDP to invest in rural employment, small medium enterprises and community regeneration. “I thereforeseek amorebal-
anced range of investments while maintaining our focus on amini- mumof60% spend on our agri- environmental schemes,’’hesaid. It follows apoor uptakeby
farmers of the newGlastir scheme. Its president, Ed Bailey,said
farmers in Wales had historically embraced and adopted higher levels of environmental carevol- untarilyontheir farms. “Wefeel the minister has been
prematureinhis statement. Surelythe Glastir stocktake
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TUBARFIELDGATE by Debbie James
should be completed first and take-up of the revised scheme considered beforeadecision is made to cut the budget,’’ said Mr Bailey. In contrast environment minis-
ter,John Griffiths,had proposed anew approach to natural resource management and sug- gested farmers and land man- agers should be paid fordeliver- ing environmental schemes. Mr Bailey said NFU Cymru
agreed with this viewand had always argued thatcompensating farmers based on ‘income fore- gone’ did not recognise the public benefits of schemes. “But while one Government department appears to be con- curring with our viewthatfarm- ers areunder-rewarded fortheir environmental management, at the same time another is propos- ing to reduce the focus on agri- environmental measures by 20%,’’ he said. “Is this reallyajoined-up Government approach?’’
BUDGET BLOW: Deputy farming minister Alun Davies wants to cut agri-environment scheme funding by 20%.
PICTURE: Debbie James
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