If you’re a regular reader of this column, you may recall last week that I mentioned that things usually come in three.

Well after two announcements from the Senedd (one on the Sustainable Farming Scheme and the other on bovine TB) the third major announcement actually came from Westminster. Not many in his own party knew that the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was going to announce that a General Election was to be called. But now we all know that the UK General Election will be held on July 4, giving voters the opportunity to cast their vote at the ballot boxes to elect candidates to work on their behalf in the corridors of power at Westminster. 

Of course, as some matters are already devolved to the Senedd, candidates in Wales will be aware that many of the most important topics that affect people’s daily lives are decided in Cardiff Bay and not Westminster. However, there will be door knocking, leaflet distributions, radio and TV discussions and local debates for us all to gain a better understanding of all the candidates’ point of view and knowledge. 

The FUW General Election Manifesto has been circulating for a few months. We prepared the details in anticipation of the political parties' spring conferences in Wales. It gave us an opportunity to set our stall, and highlight our ‘key asks’ as a farming union working for the agricultural community and rural Wales. 

The need for fair funding is the headline topic. We all know that ensuring a prosperous rural economy means so much more than just supporting individual farming families. Wales’s agricultural economy is the backbone of rural life, and the snowball effect of a thriving rural economy is like a stone skimmed across a calm lake. The ricochet effect is far-reaching. Farming families spend local. We buy goods from local shops, the agricultural merchant, the seed seller, the local machinery dealership. Fuel for our farming equipment is regularly bought and we use local contractors to support our businesses. Butchers, local village shops and pubs all benefit from the expenditure of farming families.. You might think it’s on a small scale, but producing food for public consumption sees a vast amount of money circulating within the Welsh economy. The old mantra ‘stay local, shop local’ is as strong a message as ever.

And that is the reason the FUW is calling on the next UK Government to allocate at least £450 million per year in a protected ‘legacy EU’ funding pot for agriculture and rural development in Wales. It would not only ensure a steady stream of quality local food production with high standards of animal welfare and all the environmental benefits that comes with that for the public, it would support farm incomes with a fair funding formula also benefiting the wider rural economy in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. This money would also increase research in all areas of agriculture and we are calling for the next UK Government to use this data to  take a more scientific approach to policy making.

Another key element of our manifesto is to future proof international trade and immigration and provide a level playing field at border control. This would involve abandoning the liberal trade deals that have been struck in the past and negotiating new deals that protect UK markets and food producers rather than chasing cheap headlines in newspapers. We need to forge international trading arrangements that benefit primary producers, i.e. Welsh and UK farmers; that also prioritises negotiations with the European Union to improve the deal signed by the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Balanced customs checks and tariffs that are properly enforced are crucial to ensure trade equality, together with regular reporting of statistics on imports, inspections and the tariffs that are charged.  

It is crucial that the next UK Government recognises and invests in agriculture’s contribution

to climate recovery. Farmers already play a large part, and are keen to do more, providing these measures are not detrimental to farm business viability. Investing in on-farm renewable energy projects would boost green electricity generation and provide a means of farm diversification. To do this, government needs to prioritise grid capacity in rural areas. We also need to recognise food production as a national strategic asset. The use of productive agricultural land to meet alternative or environmental targets results in unfair competition and increases the UK’s reliance on food imports, often from countries with much lower environmental and animal welfare standards. 

In addition to the above, the FUW asks for the next Government to:

• protect our livestock and high welfare standards which is integral to the UK’s food security. 

• develop disease surveillance networks with EU Member States and protect the UK scanning surveillance budget.

• continue the Private Members Bill making its way through Parliament to tackle dog worrying livestock so that all dogs be kept on a lead in fields near or adjacent to livestock

• reform public procurement and supply chain tol bring vast benefits to the economic and food security within the UK  

For more info, visit our website, or pop into your local FUW county office for a Welsh or English copy of our manifesto. Enjoy the election frenzy!