The Farmers’ Union of Wales has called on the Welsh government to carry out urgent impact assessments to ensure dairy producing areas are not affected by imminent changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). image expired

Following a meeting of the FUW’s milk and dairy produce committee in Aberystwyth, newly-elected committee chair Dei Davies said, "The committee was unanimous in its view that the Welsh dairy industry could be severely hit unless the Welsh Government acts now to undertake impact assessments looking at a variety of flat-rate single payment models and the effects they would have on dairy production and dairy farm incomes in regions throughout Wales."

Mr Davies, a Flintshire dairy farmer, warned failure to prepare properly for changes to the CAP after 2013 could mean financial collapse in many of Wales' most productive dairying areas. The FUW calls come just days after devolved agriculture ministers met with Defra ministers in Westminster to discuss unifying the UK’s stance on CAP reforms, which are currently under discussion in Europe.

Davies said, "The draft CAP proposals published on October 12 would have a severe impact on dairy farms if implemented in their current form, and it is essential that Welsh Government establishes an evidence base which can be used to show Europe why the draft regulations need to be changed.

"There is also a desperate need to look at the impact of different flat-rate models on entire constituencies within Wales where dairy farming is prevalent and makes a key contribution to local employment."

Under the current CAP proposals, every farm business within a region would ultimately receive the same payment for every hectare of land they farm. However, it is likely that Wales will be able to define different regions, which would have different payment rates.

Average total payments to upland and lowland farm businesses are currently very similar, but lowland farms are, on average, almost half the size of upland farms. The FUW claims the Welsh Government’s decision not to investigate and implement an appropriate definition of 'region' could result in entire constituencies in Wales losing tens of millions, with "catastrophic consequences to communities and in terms of food production and local employment."

Under the current proposals, the Welsh Government has 21 months before it notifies Europe of its intentions. Mr Davies and the union’s milk and dairy produce committee want the government to act immediately to secure conditions which would benefit Welsh farmers.  

Davies said, "The Welsh Government must ensure that it has left no stone unturned in the search for a model which is appropriate for Welsh agriculture as a whole, otherwise we will be backed into a corner and forced to make catastrophic decisions because essential ground work has not been done.

"It is also critical that our Deputy Minister is able negotiate with his counterparts across the UK and with the European Commission while having all the facts and figures at his disposal. He should not be going into those meetings empty-handed."