Whilst the Chinese zodiac calendar may be readying to welcome the Year of the Horse, the UK and wider agricultural industry may be looking to Wales and Y Ddraig Goch this year. With the launch of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) after approaching 10 years of deliberations and a Senedd election like no other in May, 2026 in Wales looks to be one of both change and opportunity for the industry and Nation as a whole.

2025 closed with a sense of relief for many. After 14 months of intense campaigning from NFU Cymru, the UK Government announced a significant change to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5m. This was a very welcome change ensuring that for many the year would begin not on the backfoot but with a slightly lighter head and clearer path ahead. The professional and resourceful way in which the Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign was conducted, in particular the unity seen across the supply chain and Welsh public, is the very same approach that NFU Cymru will bring into 2026 and beyond.

The year begins with something both new and familiar as the Sustainable Farming Scheme begins on January 1st. This slightly contradictory feeling of familiarity as the scheme begins is largely due to the fact that NFU Cymru, farmers, and growers have spent the best part of a decade hammering out details and expectations with Welsh Government. Hard-fought wins such as the removal of the 10% tree cover requirement have defined our approach since the original proposals were first published in 2018. Looking to the scheme’s launch, NFU Cymru continue to remind the current government, and those aspiring to form the next Welsh Government, that there is still much to do; the scheme must evolve if it is to ensure a productive and profitable future for Welsh agriculture environmentally, financially and socially.

Despite SFS driving the current of the farming year for many, 2026 looks to be a year of two halves. The first under what remains of the current Sixth Senedd, with the Welsh Government Budget to be passed alongside pieces of legislation already in the pipeline, and the second likely to be dominated by inter-party negotiations and political horse trading as the parties jostle to form a government and appoint a First Minister. NFU Cymru has already published our manifesto, Growing Forward, which sets out clear priorities for the next Welsh Government and will be continuing to work alongside our industry allies to engage candidates of all political parties with the importance of farming and rural communities to the fabric of the Nation.

With an almost one-of-a-kind agricultural payment system and Senedd election set to break precedent with the last 100 years of Welsh politics, all eyes will be on Wales to see how Y Ddraig Goch takes flight in 2026.