The NFU Cymru Next Generation Development Group recently visited Cardiff to present its ambition for Welsh farming to elected representatives and officials, including the Deputy First Minister and agricultural portfolio holders.

The day started with a roundtable with Huw Irranca-Davies MS, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs. Members of the group expressed their enthusiasm for the future of Welsh farming but outlined the importance of continuing to evolve the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), taking account of the recent economic modelling and impact assessment. They also highlighted the need for an agricultural budget that is ambitious enough to help deliver growth for Welsh farming and rural Wales.

The group then met with Welsh Government senior officials where discussion turned to diseases such as bTB and Bluetongue and the increasing burden of on-farm regulations. The group was also keen to stress the opportunities within the industry, particularly the benefits of improving education around farming to increase both knowledge of the sector, but also to welcome and encourage the next generation of farmers and growers in Wales.

NFU Cymru Next Generation Development Group member Leisia Tudor, farming in Meirionnydd, said: “It was great to meet the Deputy First Minister and his officials today to highlight our ambitions for the sector and to raise the issues that matter most to us as the next generation of farmers in Wales.”

The group then undertook a tour of the Senedd before meetings with leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS, Llyr Gruffydd MS, Plaid Cymru Agriculture Spokesperson and Welsh Conservative Rural Affairs Spokesperson Sam Kurtz MS.

Day two of the trip consisted of a group visit to NFU Cymru Glamorgan County Chair Tom Rees’s mixed livestock and arable farm outside of Cowbridge. Tom is an alumni of the first NFU Cymru Next Generation Development Group intake.