This month the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Llyr Gruffydd MS, announced that the Welsh Government are launching an independent review to examine the bureaucratic burden on Welsh farm businesses. NFU Cymru and its members are clear that the volume and complexity of current rules is placing unsustainable pressure on farming businesses. With 15 years passing since a review of red tape and bureaucracy being conducted, NFU Cymru has been consistently lobbying for a new review of regulations to reflect the increasing amount of paperwork brought on by the UK’s departure from the EU, the policy shift from the Basic Payment Scheme to the Sustainable Farming Scheme, alongside other developments in animal welfare and farm assurance. This culminated more recently in our Senedd Election Manifesto ‘Growing Forward’, launched in the summer of 2025, which NFU Cymru Officeholders presented directly to each party as part of our election campaigning. We were delighted to see almost every party standing for election commit to reviewing outdated and often duplicated demands on Welsh Farmers’ time and money. In particular we welcomed the inclusion of such a commitment in Plaid Cymru's 'First 100 Days' document alongside other headline NFU Cymru asks on water quality and the need for a multi-annual agricultural budget. Former NFU Cymru President, John Davies, has been tasked with leading the review over a nine-month period where he will be examining the cumulative impact of regulatory red tape on Welsh family farms. John is a hugely well-respected figure within the Welsh agricultural industry, possesses an excellent understanding of the regulatory landscape and has the knowledge and passion to take this important area of work forward and ensure that it is scrutinised effectively. Most importantly, as an active farmer himself, John has first-hand experience with how changes to agriculture policy, even those welcomed by farmers across Wales, can often lead to more on-farm bureaucracy. NFU Cymru are clear that this review must be informed by real-world experience and shaped by those directly affected. By working with our members, we will build a strong, evidence-based picture of the current burden on farming families and provide constructive, solutions-focused inputs that help deliver a more streamlined and effective regulatory framework. This is a significant opportunity to reset how policy and regulatory requirements work for Welsh farming, giving back the time and money for farmers to do what they do best - feed us.