Ms Batters, whose six-year tenure as NFU President will come to an end when she stands down at the union’s AGM after NFU Conference in February, met with members from Clwyd, Mid Gwynedd and Anglesey as part of her two-day visit.
Her first engagement was to attend the NFU Cymru Llanwrst branch meeting on Monday 8 January, where she spoke with members about the issues facing farmers in the area.
Farming in a Less Favoured Area
The following morning, Minette enjoyed a breakfast meeting and visit to Hafod Las, Ysbyty Ifan, a National Trust farm where NFU Cymru Livestock Board member Guto Davies farms with his young family. During the visit, Guto highlighted the challenges that farming in the less favoured area (LFA) presents, as well as the farm’s ethos of producing high quality, sustainable food with minimal impact on the environment and climate. Guto also discussed his concerns as to how future government policy changes could impact his business.
Next generation
Ms Batters then attended Plas Isa dairy farm, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, where she conducted a question and answer session with students from Coleg Llysfasi near Ruthin. She then hosted a discussion with NFU Cymru members from Clwyd, Mid Gwynedd and Anglesey, where she discussed her time as President of the NFU. In particular, she highlighted the union’s standards campaign in 2020, where she led one of the most successful petitions ever, bringing together a coalition of chefs, including Jamie Oliver, farmers, environmentalists, consumer groups and animal welfare experts – resulting in over one million people signing the NFU’s food standards petition. NFU Cymru President Aled Jones was also in attendance and gave members some background on the union’s current lobbying priorities.
Lobbing on BPS
Ms Batters also praised the work of NFU Cymru in Wales, drawing particular attention to the union’s recent lobbying which helped secure the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) for 2024 in the face of significant budgetary pressures in Welsh Government. She said: “I applaud NFU Cymru for really fighting on stability. The fact that farmers in Wales have hung on to BPS is largely down to the work of NFU Cymru and, my goodness, are businesses here potentially going to need it with the challenges you have coming down the line.
“We must all be united on focussing on the importance of stability to farming businesses. As I said to politicians in Westminster recently, ‘You give us stability and we’ll be able to deliver on sustainability’. If that stability is pulled away from us, at the same time as we’re expected to deliver more than ever before, we just won’t be able to do it. Profitable agriculture delivers for people, communities and the environment and that has to be the focus of government.”
A tour of Plas Isa Dairy
After the meeting, those in attendance enjoyed a tour of Plas Isa, where Huw and Rachel Jones have converted a traditional beef and sheep farm to a thriving dairy business selling direct to consumers. The farm’s fresh milk and milkshakes are sold from a popular vending machine and are also stocked by a wide number of local businesses. Members enjoyed touring the farm and viewing the bottling facilities.
Speaking after the meetings, NFU Cymru Welsh Council Delegate for Clwyd, Paul Williams said: “It was a pleasure for Clwyd to host NFU President Minette Batters this week. During her time at the NFU, Minette has fought tirelessly for the interests of UK agriculture and has raised the industry’s profile, arguably, higher than it has ever been.
“What Minette has done for the perception of women in agriculture, in particular, cannot be underestimated. She has been an inspiration to so many female farmers. As part of the visit this week, we hosted a large group of students from Coleg Llysfasi and it was encouraging to see so many budding young female farmers in their number, which is testament to the way Minette has helped to inspire women of all ages to forge a career in this brilliant industry.
“There is no doubt that she will be remembered in the pantheons of the great leaders of the NFU and those farmers from Clwyd, Mid Gwynedd and Anglesey who attended today’s meetings were keen to thank Minette in person for her fantastic service to the union.”