Wales NVZ, stocking rate at 170kg/ha N.

dairyrow

Member
Do we think Kirsty Williams's desire to remain a Inistrr for another couple of months rather than vote against the regs might lose the Lib Dems Brecon and Radnorshire? They were on rocky ground with her stepping down anyway.

Might she have done the maths and worked out the vote would be lost anyway? Even so, principles used to matter....
Could be she just wants to shaft Jane Dodds before she leaves.
Going to be interesting what these free range, boiler and pig sheds are going to do about it. Some big units been put up on small acreages of ground.
 

RJ1

Member
Location
Wales
Could be she just wants to shaft Jane Dodds before she leaves.
Going to be interesting what these free range, boiler and pig sheds are going to do about it. Some big units been put up on small acreages of ground.

Yes, in some ways the chicken option was a lifeline for small farms due to the low acreage requirement and better payoff than other enterprises.

Dairy farms will now generally have enough of their own slurry to deal with given the limits. I think they'll have to look at deals with arable farms. A lot of muck might be going cheap!
 

Farmer Keith

Member
Location
North Cumbria
A legal challenge against a government trying to implement environment legislation is a potential PR nightmare for us as an industry. If that is the way to go we need to be sure we are going to win.
 

dairyrow

Member
I think they need to ask how are water companies improving their sewage treatment plants and new developments have their sewage requirements upto date? I have a feeling that will be replacing what agriculture supposedly are polluting the water with.
 

Bald Rick

Moderator
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
I see Dafydd Ellis-Thomas voted against the amendment.

Silly old fool should have been pensioned off years ago. Imagine representing Meirion Dwyfor and voting against. The rascal

Caroline Jones, Independent & representing SW Wales also against
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
I see Dafydd Ellis-Thomas voted against the amendment.

Silly old fool should have been pensioned off years ago. Imagine representing Meirion Dwyfor and voting against. The rascal

Caroline Jones, Independent & representing SW Wales also against
More amazing was that one of the Labour MS’ abstained.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Yes, in some ways the chicken option was a lifeline for small farms due to the low acreage requirement and better payoff than other enterprises.

Dairy farms will now generally have enough of their own slurry to deal with given the limits. I think they'll have to look at deals with arable farms. A lot of muck might be going cheap!
No or very few, depending on locality, arable farmers over vast areas of the S Wales milk field. None within 20 miles of me.
 

Campani

Member
The regs include this paragraph:

'If proposals for an alternative suite of measures for delivering the outcomes in regulation 44(1) are received within 18 months of these Regulations coming into force, the Welsh Ministers must consider whether those measures would deliver the outcomes more effectively than the measures contained in these Regulations.'

I would hope NFU Cymru is planning to propose alternative measures. This seems to me to be the most effective method of changing the regs now.
 

RJ1

Member
Location
Wales
No or very few, depending on locality, arable farmers over vast areas of the S Wales milk field. None within 20 miles of me.

I know, difficult in areas.

I was more thinking of the chicken farmers mentioned - those in Powys may have to look along the border?

The dairy farms would, I think, have to ensure that they essentially '"rent in" slurry acres, possibly on spreading on rented in silage ground if they're not doing so already.
 

vantage

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Pembs
The regs include this paragraph:

'If proposals for an alternative suite of measures for delivering the outcomes in regulation 44(1) are received within 18 months of these Regulations coming into force, the Welsh Ministers must consider whether those measures would deliver the outcomes more effectively than the measures contained in these Regulations.'

I would hope NFU Cymru is planning to propose alternative measures. This seems to me to be the most effective method of changing the regs now.
It doesn’t have a good record of listening, or responding to any organisation that doesn’t share its view!
 

RJ1

Member
Location
Wales
The regs include this paragraph:

'If proposals for an alternative suite of measures for delivering the outcomes in regulation 44(1) are received within 18 months of these Regulations coming into force, the Welsh Ministers must consider whether those measures would deliver the outcomes more effectively than the measures contained in these Regulations.'

I would hope NFU Cymru is planning to propose alternative measures. This seems to me to be the most effective method of changing the regs now.

The problem is, the Unions and Llyr Gruffydd of Plaid have both made such proposals which all seem more sensible but haven't received a substantive response, if at all.

Where this may well help is with a different govt after the May elections.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I know, difficult in areas.

I was more thinking of the chicken farmers mentioned - those in Powys may have to look along the border?

The dairy farms would, I think, have to ensure that they essentially '"rent in" slurry acres, possibly on spreading on rented in silage ground if they're not doing so already.
It means, for a large proportion of farms, either cutting their herds down to an unviable number [and income] or to buy or rent more land for no more output and income, which is also probably equally unviable and unsustainable for the business and farming family.

The other option is to pack it in and let the population grub for food where they can, which is my favoured option. There is no responsibility on farmers to actually produce food. Let the country import food while farmers do something far more rewarding with their lives than being tied to a cow's tail. If it comes to there being no food to import, let the ungrateful sods grub for berries after collecting their 'social'. There won't be much work for them out of town, that's for sure.
 

RJ1

Member
Location
Wales
I means, for a large proportion of farms, either cutting their herds down to an unviable number [and income] or to buy or rent more land for no more output and income, which is also probably equally unviable and unsustainable for the business and farming family.

The other option is to pack it in and let to population grub for food where they can, which is my favoured option. There is no responsibility on farmers to actually produce food. Let the country import food while farmers do something far more rewarding with their lives than being tied to a cow's tail.
Oh yes, I don't disagree. It's a double whammy of increasing cost (landbase and capital infrastructure) and capping the ability to gain income. Generally terrible news and totally unnecessary in 70% of the country.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Oh yes, I don't disagree. It's a double whammy of increasing cost (landbase and capital infrastructure) and capping the ability to gain income. Generally terrible news and totally unnecessary in 70% of the country.
With the volatility and low milk price generally that I've experienced in recent years, it is not worth the candle in my opinion. It is not easy to decide on the timing of exiting the industry, that's my only issue. I could get out now while my TB test is valid but who'd buy cows this early in the season with silage stocks running low.
I sent an email to Elin Jones, the Assembly Speaker who lives only three miles away. In it I illustrated the fact that in my memory of less than 50 years, from her house in town out towards Lampeter for three miles and then south-west to Derwen Gam, back to the A487 and hence back to her house, I can remember 19 dairy farmers in that square. I am the last man standing. The 20th and only one left. They ranged from a couple of 200 cow herds, about 10 herds between 60 and 100 cows and the smaller ones that gave up between 1970 and 2000. I've almost certainly missed a few that gave up early in the period but I am unaware of.
 
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SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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