A redesigned post-Brexit farm support regime is a once in a generation opportunity to strike the right balance between food production and the provision of other public goods.
That’s the view of Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru’s North Wales AM, after a visit to farmland in the Betws-y-Coed area where a group of farmers are managing the landscape to improve the environment as well as produce good quality food.
The meeting was hosted by Alun Davies, of Dylasau Isaf farm, who manages 306 acres of National Trust land at Dylasau Isaf Stud Farm in Padog, Betws-y-Coed. He is a member of Fferm Ifan, a group of farmers working together at a landscape scale to enhance the areas natural resources. He farms Welsh Mountain sheep and other rare breeds. The farm also operates as a small family Welsh Cob stud.
Mr Gruffydd said: “The Welsh Government’s consultation on ‘Brexit and our Land’ is a rare opportunity to design a support system from the bottom up, one that consolidates the delivery of key benefits to Welsh farming and wider society. Ensuring viable food production from the land whilst maximising the delivery of wider public goods will be central to building a more sustainable future for the sector.
“Farmers have continuously innovated over the centuries and this visit was a great opportunity to see how groups such as the RSPB, National Trust and the farming community are already working together on developing models that will play a much more prominent role in the future.
Local farmer Adam Russell, the RSPB’s Arfon Williams, Llyr Gruffydd AM, Alun Davies and Rhys Evans of the RSPB.
From left: Local farmer Adam Russell, the RSPB’s Arfon Williams, Llyr Gruffydd AM, Alun Davies and Rhys Evans of the RSPB.