Wales Farmer March 2013 NEWS


Power shift in food chain ‘good news’


■ Supply security is


big issue By Debbie James


THE balance of power in Wales’s food chain is shifting to farmers as security


of becomesamajor issue for


processors and retailers. At the annual Farming Connect conference in Builth Wells,agricultural economist Siôn Roberts said the last 30 years had been aperiod when the retailer had ruled the food chain. But Mr Roberts,asenior


partner in the European Food and Farming Partnerships,pre- dicted thatthis wasset to change.


“Things arechanging fast and


positively,the powerisshifting to farmers and to the con- sumer,” he told acapacity audi- ence of morethan 180 at Hafod yHendre. “Security of supplyisbecom-


ing areal issue.Wehaveseen retailers react by putting its arms around the liquid milk marketand we areseeing more relationships


developing


between the food and farming industry to securesupply.”


NEXT GENERATION: Agroup of young farmers chat with deputy minister for agriculture, Alun Davies, during a break in the conference.


Increased collaboration pre-


sented newopportunities for farmers,headded. “It is agood story forfarm-


ing, butthe challenge forthe futureistokeep productivity growing.” In this neweconomic land-


scape,subsidies will become much less important. Mr Roberts believesthatwithin a


THE profitability of Wales’ farming indus- try wasafocus forIrish dairy farmer and entrepreneur,Mike Murphy, who suggested that Welsh farmers had lost their focus on the value of grass in improving profitability. “Research has proven that the more grass


that can be grazed per hectare, the more that profits go up,’’hetold the conference. Measurement is keytothis system. Mr


decade they will account fora minor part of farmers’ incomes. The reform of the Common AgriculturePolicy will have a major influence on these subsidy payments. Deputy minister foragricul-


ture, Alun Davies wasatthe conference to launch aconsulta- tion on the implications of this reform forfarmers in Wales.


Murphyencouraged farmers to identify and improvepoor performing paddocks. Farmers would get the best from their


grass by grazing it efficiently with cows that scored highly on feed conversion and fertility. “By relentlessly focusing on grazing residuals youwill gradually improvethe vol- ume of grass yougrow. Grass must always be in agood growing state,’’ he said.


The minister is keen to engage


farmers in aprocess thatwill consider howdirect payments aredeliveredinthe future. He described the consultation


as one of the most important he waseverlikelytolaunch. The minister also encouraged


farmers to engage with Farming Connect and the manyservices it delivered.


PICTURE: Debbie James This,hesaid, would help


farming businesses to improve that‘all-important bottom line’. Other speakers included


Martin Nesbitt, director of EU and international affairs at Defra; Andrew Slade,director of European programmes group of the Welsh Government, and young farmer Nick Davis from mid Wales.


supply 11


Copper alert in winter feeding


MANY dairy farms could be put- ting the health of their herds at risk by overfeeding copper and severalother minerals during the winter,according to anew study.


ADairyCo-funded studyof50


farms,carried out by Harper Adams University,found that31 farms were feeding abovethe max- imum recommended levelofcop- per of 20mg/kg dry matter,and four of them fed double that, potentiallyputting animals at risk of copper toxicity and death.


The studyalso found thatsome


farms were underfeeding certain minerals.


Dr JennyGibbons,DairyCo


research manager,said: “Too much or too little of just one min- eral can potentiallycause produc- tion and health issues,soit’s important thatdairy farmers ensurethey’re feeding the right amounts.


“Some minerals also influence


the uptakeofothers,this needs to be taken into account when select- ing the correct supplements.”


Professor Liam Sinclair from


Harper Adams University,said analysing forage and feed wasa good starting point.


“Thisisrelatively inexpensive


and agood indicator of potential problems forvarious minerals,” he added.


The studyalso found thatone


person should have overall respon- sibility forthe mineral nutrition on farmbecause minerals could be supplied from avariety of sources.


Formoreinformation see the


Minerals Report on the DairyCo website www.dairyco.org.uk.


EXCHANGING VIEWS: Deputy minister for agriculture, Alun Davies, is pictured with some of the conference speakers.


High hopes for digesters


ESTABLISHING on-farmanaerobic digesters in Wales could be made easier thanks to anew waste plan by the Welsh Government. Shadowminister forrural affairs, Antoinette Sandbach, has been pressing for anaerobic plants to be akey element of the newAgricultural Waste Sector Plan. She says thereishuge potential foranaer-


obic digestion on Welsh farms,but manyon- farmprojects become mired in redtapeand opposition from planning authorities. “While England is pressing ahead with


support foranaerobic digestion, it is vital thatWales is not left behind,”she said. “I hope thatthis newplan foragricultural


waste will have support foranaerobic diges- tion at its heart.”


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


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