At the meeting, held virtually on Wednesday 12th January, Mrs Smith said: “Here in Wales we have top quality world class produce with world class traceability and we have a sustainable product, so we must get that message across to consumers. We’re different. We’re better. Wales produces food. You can trust us. That is a message we really must bring home.”
The issue of free trade agreements was raised, and Mrs Smith said: “This is a very hot topic at the moment. Fair competition is fine, but we have got to have a level playing field. Farmers abroad need to keep to the same credentials as our farmers here in Wales and this challenge continues.
“We need to support developing markets and I think granting access to the USA for Welsh lamb is a positive and at HCC we are ready and poised to support processors access this market.”
Sustainable farming
Mrs Smith said that sustainability was going to be crucial in everything the industry does moving forward. “There is a huge amount depending on this, not just the environment, which is often the lead topic, but our economies and communities, too. They are the three legs that support this stool on which our next generation’s future sits. So, we have to get this right.
“Whether we like it or not Climate change is happening and as farmers we will be on the front line trying to support domestic global food security while coping with even more extreme and unpredictable weather.
Cath Smith, Chair of HCC said:
“The vilification of our industry by those with alternative agendas has to stop. Here in Wales, let’s be clear, we are part of the solution and not the problem. We’ve got to be confident in the Welsh Way. It is low intensity farming and is already an excellent example of how meat should be produced. HCC has a significant leadership role to play in challenging any misinformation and false narratives and by putting the facts squarely back on the table so consumers can make a confident and informed choice about the meats they eat.
“But we also need to be clear that as an industry we’re on a mission to improve our standards further still in the years to come, and to support the industry to get better.”
Right kind of agriculture in the right place
She continued: “The big message is that you don’t have to change your diet to reduce your carbon footprint, you can choose meat that’s produced sustainably. We have a landscape here in Wales that is perfectly designed for rearing livestock. Wales is a great example of the right kind of agriculture in the right place.
“We know we can produce high quality protein from land that is unsuitable, 80% of it in fact, for other types of food production. We have plenty of rain and our report shows that UK grass productivity, in particular in Wales, is amongst the highest in Europe.
“It makes no sense to reduce red meat production here. We need to continue producing Welsh meat here as efficiently as possible from our national flock and herd, with a stable population of breeding animals that will continue to support the communities and cultures in Wales that are so dependent on farming. It lies in making the most of the opportunities to integrate further mitigation measures, such as carbon sequestration, but also renewable energy generation and sensitively located forestry that works in harmony, and indeed perhaps enhances our productive livestock farming landscape and nature. It doesn’t have to be either or, it can coexist if we get it right.”
The meeting also saw NFU Cymru Deputy President Aled Jones update members of the wide array of work the union was conducting on members’ behalf, including work around trade deals, climate change, water quality and future funding.
NFU Cymru Ceredigion County Chairman, Glyn Davies, said:
“I would like to thank Cath Smith for taking the time to speak with us. It was fantastic to hear her positivity around the future of farming here in Wales and we look forward to working with her in the coming years. I would also like to thank our Deputy President, Aled Jones, for his time. Let’s hope the next meeting we hold will be in person.”
NFU Cymru would like to thank HSBC for once again sponsoring the union’s series of county conferences across Wales.