Welsh deputy agriculture minister Alun Davies has released the final set of changes to the Glastir agri-environment scheme.

Making the announcement to the National Assembly on Tuesday (3rd July), the Deputy Agriculture Minister made it absolutely clear that there will be no further extended reviews or changes of the Glastir scheme after the current overhaul. He said reduced administration, increased support for farmers and improved communication of the scheme would be delivered as part of almost 150 recommended changes implemented from this week.

Some farmers had expressed the desire to return to the old agri-environment schemes, but Mr Davies said his changes will streamline application and management of the scheme. These include modifying the names of each element of the Glastir scheme to “encourage a wider understanding.” The All-Wales Element of the Glastir will henceforth be known as ‘Glastir – Entry’ and the Targeted Element will become ‘Glastir – Advanced.’

From 2014, the application window will be abolished, so farmers can apply for the scheme at a time that suits them, following complaints that the previous window had clashed with lambing. The application will also become available as an online process from 2014 and Glastir facilitators will be available to help applicants.

The scheme had been criticised for a lack of continuity, following a number of overhauls, though the Deputy Minister said on Tuesday, "This has been an overwhelmingly positive exercise. The vast majority of respondents recognised that the approach we are taking with Glastir is the only realistic way of achieving our aim of a financially and environmentally sustainable farming industry in Wales.”

The minister thumbed his nose at his predecessor Elin Jones, saying, "My stock-take has provided a clear direction of travel for Glastir. I am now providing the political leadership that farmers had the right to expect from the beginning.”

He continued, "I want to reiterate that Glastir is here to stay and that once all the amendments made as a consequence of my stock-take are built into the scheme there will be no further significant changes and no further reviews. I hope that farmers and other land managers will respond positively to the opportunity that Glastir offers them. I hope that all will agree that Wales now has an excellent agri-environmental scheme; one that is fit for purpose and fit for the future."

The Farmers’ Union of Wales said the changes represent "a step in the right direction.” FUW spokesperson Gavin Williams said, “We look forward to working with Welsh Government to get the right messages across to farmers.”

However, NFU Cymru spokesperson Bernard Llewellyn said the Stocktake Report “lacks the necessary urgency.” He also lamented that certain aspects the union had hoped to see included were left out of the final report, sating,  “Until stone walls and other traditional boundaries are included in the scheme those farms in areas of Wales where hedges won’t grow or would not blend naturally into the landscape will be very limited with regards to the prescriptions available to them.”

The union spokesperson also repeated calls for the Welsh government to introduce Less Favoured Area support, which is permitted under Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy.

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