March 2010 Archives

The Farmers' Union of Wales today accused the UK Government's Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) of adopting a "heavy-handed" attitude by forcing farmers in areas with no or poor broadband provision to fill in their VAT returns on-line.

The union's business development director Emyr James reminded farmers of a legal obligation to comply with new regulations relating to filing VAT returns on-line, effective from 1 April this year, but HMRC has no alternative option for those who don't use a computer or don't have access to broadband.

Mr James was commenting on HMRC's reply to FUW representations on behalf of its members who, because of their location, are unable to receive broadband and have no plans to go on-line. "They have confirmed the legislation does not provide exemption and there will be no 'alternative' method to filing on-line.

"To fulfil their obligation, HMRC suggest that they could ask family or friends, who have a computer, to offer them Internet access or, alternatively, employ the services of an agent who could file the return on their behalf," he said.

"This is a typically heavy-handed government approach, showing very little appreciation of the true situation for many small-to-medium-sized enterprises.

"There is still a generation of people in society who did not grow up in an Internet environment and some consideration should have been shown towards this group of people.

"There are many farmers for whom the Internet remains an unfamiliar skill, whilst there are some who distrust modern communications technology. Also, many parts of rural Wales have no reliable broadband provision at all."

To overcome the problem, the FUW will provide a service at its county offices where staff will file members' VAT returns on-line on their behalf. The paper-based summary will be completed in the normal way and taken to the county office.

"This will complement a similar service already provided by county offices, whereby stock movements are registered with BCMS electronically," said Mr James.

THE Chancellor has once again left Welsh farmers bitterly disappointed after failing to take on board the Farmers Union of Wales' demand for a freeze on fuel duty and the establishment of a fuel duty regulator, said the union's president today.

Instead Mr Darling announced that fuel duty will rise by 1p in April followed by further 1p rises in October and January. "This staggered approach will do nothing to alleviate rural dwellers' high transports costs and it will also ensure that we will see a rise in fuel costs for the foreseeable future," said Gareth Vaughan.

"The rising costs of transportation are having a profound effect on the sustainability of the agricultural industry. The current economic climate, coupled with high oil prices and a lack of investment in alternative fuel opportunities, has resulted in a significant increase in overheads for primary producers who cannot pass these costs up the marketing chain.

"The Chancellor's failure to freeze all fuel duty rises will leave us on an unfair playing field compared to our competitors and there is no doubt every commodity that has to be transported to rural areas will now cost farmers much more in the future.

"The effect of Mr Darling's decisions mean that farming suffers badly because for every 2p per litre rise in fuel duty the annual operating costs of just one 44-tonne articulated lorry increases by up to £900 - inevitably leading to increased prices for animal feedstuffs, fertiliser, and all other products farmers have to purchase," added Mr Vaughan.

On a more positive note, the union welcomed the decision to introduce a duty of 50p a month on all phone landlines to finance the availability of super-fast broadband to 90 per cent of the population by the end of 2017.

"The FUW has long campaigned that the lack of effective broadband in many parts of Wales is putting rural businesses at a severe disadvantage. I hope that this move will eradicate any black-spots that currently exist in Wales.

"Access to a fast internet connection is also becoming an increasingly useful tool for farmers with registering cattle movements online a regular task. It is vital that we have effective access to broadband technology to carry out these tasks quickly and efficiently," said Mr Vaughan.

The union also praised the Chancellor's decision to double the stamp duty limit for first time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000.

Mr Vaughan added: "We welcome this support for first time buyers as we hope it will allow young people who wish to stay in our rural communities to purchase houses within their locality.

"Retaining young people in rural communities is imperative for the sustainability of rural Wales."

Following months of confusion about the details of the new land management scheme, Glastir, David Morris, Head of CAP Reform for the Welsh Assembly Government, is to address Caernarfon farmers on the issue at an open meeting arranged by the Caernarfon FUW branch.

Held at the Foelas Arms, Pentrefoelas this Thursday (March 25) at 7.30pm, FUW members are invited to attend David Morris' presentation on the new scheme and to raise any burning issues with him.

FUW's Caernarfon county executive officer Gwynedd Watkin said: "We realise that this is a very busy time of year for farmers, but I strongly believe that it is important for members to receive as much information as possible about the scheme, as it could have a severe impact on their income post 2013.

"We are very grateful to David Morris for agreeing to come and speak at the meeting and we look forward to hearing more about the entry level criteria, dual land use and the common land element of the scheme.

"We have also invited prominent politicians from the area in order to keep them updated on the latest information on the scheme and to hear our members' concerns with regard to the proposed changes."

Members of the media wishing to attend the meeting should contact the FUW's Caernarfon county executive officer Gwynedd Watkin on 01286 672 541.

A Welsh farmers' leader today welcomed Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party MPs' decision to table an Early Day Motion in the Commons urging a freeze on fuel duty and repeating calls for the establishment of a fuel duty regulator.

Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan also expressed his disappointment that fuel duty was being increased yet again despite the extreme economic pressures on the agricultural industry and wider rural economy.

He is concerned that fuel duty is set to rise by 2.55p per litre in April (1% above the rate of inflation) which will cost the average family an extra £200 a year. "The rising costs of transportation are also having a profound effect on the sustainability of the agricultural industry.

"The current economic climate, coupled with high oil prices and a lack of investment in alternative fuel opportunities, has resulted in a significant increase in overheads for primary producers who cannot pass these costs up the marketing chain," he said.

"The Chancellor must freeze all fuel duty rises because they give us such an unfair playing field over many of our competitors and there is no doubt every commodity that has to be transported to the rural areas will now cost farmers much more in the future."

Mr Vaughan originally wrote to Mr Darling in September 2007 urging him to defer the fuel duty increase scheduled for October 2007 but the Chancellor went ahead with a 2ppl increase then, another 2p on April 1 2009 and a third 2p rise last September.

"The effect of Mr Darling's decisions mean that farming suffers badly because for every 2p per litre rise in fuel duty the annual operating costs of just one 44-tonne articulated lorry increases by up to £900 - inevitably leading to increased prices for animal feedstuffs, fertiliser, and all other products farmers have to purchase," said Mr Vaughan.

The Welsh Assembly Government's controversial land management scheme Glastir misses an opportunity to make a real difference to climate change, says the Farmers' Union of Wales today (Tuesday, 16 March).

"Glastir is missing the opportunity to make a real difference to climate change because it ignores the opportunities for sequestrating carbon from managed grazing and concentrates on tree planting. Such a measure is unlikely to be taken up by farmers as they would be reluctant to see agricultural land taken out of production with little gain," said the union's deputy policy director Rhian Nowell-Phillips.

"The Assembly Government is keen to promote Glastir as a land management scheme, but it has failed to 'think outside the box' to look at opportunities beyond those available under previous agri-environment schemes, which is disappointing given the emerging evidence about the contribution grazing systems can make to carbon uptake."

Ms Nowell-Phillips also expressed concern that bringing forward just one element of the targeted scheme could create even more confusion amongst farmers who are already not sure whether they will be able to access this part of the scheme.

"One of our concerns has been how difficult it will be for farmers to decide whether to go into the all-Wales element without knowing whether they will be accepted into the targeted element which is based on delivering six objectives including carbon and water storage, water quality, historic environment, biodiversity and access.

"The fact that the Minister has announced the early start of one of the elements of the scheme reinforces the FUW's view that the current timetable means that insufficient information is available to farmers who will need to indicate their interest in the scheme's ' targeted element' by ticking a box on their 2010 SAF form within the next few weeks.

"Farmers, like any other businessmen, need time to consider what is available to them under the provisions of the scheme before making a long-term business commitment.

"The FUW continues to demand a full economic impact assessment of the new scheme in view of the fact that the current Tir Mynydd scheme helped to avoid land abandonment and rural depopulation.

"Unless Glastir is made accessible and simpler there could be severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments, especially in the uplands."

The FUW also has great concern about the current timetable given the diverse problems associated with Glastir on common land and the problems that are arising with tenancy issues which are likely to preclude many farmers who may wish to access Glastir but through no fault of their own cannot meet the criteria.

"We fear it will be a complex enough process for normal farmland, but on common or tenanted land the complexities are multiplied due to the different ways in which common land is used in different areas and the types of tenancy and grazing agreements that exist in Wales."

The Farmers' Union of Wales Grand Council, comprising of leading members from all the union's 13 county branches, has urged Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to have a "complete rethink" of the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) controversial Glastir land management scheme.

At a quarterly meeting of the Grand Council in Aberystwyth, delegates passed a resolution calling for a complete rethink of the scheme and demanded WAG to deliver an easily accessible and simpler scheme, with project officer support, that is attractive to farmers and landowners.

Chairman of the FUW's land use and parliamentary committee Richard Vaughan, of Pall Mall, Tywyn, who proposed the motion, said the scheme should include support for capital works at entry level, take into account the importance of common land in Wales, and review the necessity of establishing grazing associations to implement the scheme.

Mr Vaughan added: "The current Tir Mynydd scheme's objective is to support and maintain livestock production in the less productive farming areas of Wales in order to avoid land abandonment and rural depopulation. Therefore, if Glastir is not made accessible and simpler it could have severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments especially in Wales's uplands.

"Glastir represents a seed change for farmers in Wales and it's high time that the Assembly realised that farmers need time to adapt and to be given more details about the scheme so that they can make the right business decisions."

Seconding the motion, FUW Meirionnydd county chairman Robert W Evans, of Sylfaen, Barmouth, said due to the scarcity of firm details about the current scheme making a decision on whether to sign up was like going into a restaurant without knowing what's on the menu.

The Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) decision to set up a working group to discuss and resolve issues and concerns raised by common land graziers over the introduction of the controversial Glastir land management scheme was welcomed by members of the Farmers' Union of Wales common land committee today.

"We have been calling for the establishment of this group for the past six months and raised the issue directly with the Minister on a number of occasions last year," said committee chairman Lorraine Howells. "We were, therefore, pleased when, in early January, WAG officials confirmed that this group would be set up.

"The first meeting was held on 17 February, and further meetings will be held on a monthly basis."

Miss Howells is a member of the Glastir Commons Working Group along with FUW policy director Dr Nick Fenwick and chairman of the union's hill farming committee Derek Morgan.

She told today's meeting: "We have been lobbying the Assembly regarding the particular problems associated with common land and Glastir and asking them to set this group up since last summer, so it is good that it is finally off the ground."

However, the committee was unanimous in expressing concern regarding the current timetable given the diverse problems associated with Glastir on common land, and reiterated calls for the scheme's implementation date to be postponed for 12 months.

"Almost 18 per cent of Welsh farms have common land, and this is therefore of critical importance to Welsh agriculture, especially in those areas where common land makes up the majority of farmland.

"Everything must be done to make Glastir accessible to as many commoners throughout Wales as possible but this will take time. The transition from LFA payments, in the form of Tir Mynydd, to the Glastir agri-environmental scheme means a massive escalation in eligibility and compliance criteria.

"This will be a complex enough process for normal farmland, but on common land the complexities are multiplied due to the different ways in which common land is used in different areas, and the diverse range of habitats that exist on Welsh commons.

"Tir Mynydd and its predecessors have helped stem rural depopulation and maintain livestock for decades. If we do not get Glastir right for common land it will have severe consequences for Welsh communities and environments, and accelerate the abandonment of the ancient hefting systems that have defined much of Wales''s uplands."

Ynys Môn (Anglesey) MP Albert Owen's Private Member's Bill calling for the appointment of a Grocery Market Ombudsman has made major progress towards becoming law, Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Eifion Huws said today.

"The Bill, which enjoys cross-party support, needed 35 MPs to vote for it during its second reading in the Commons this morning and I am very pleased that it received 44 votes with none in opposition," said Mr Huws, a dairy farmer on Anglesey.

"By clearing this hurdle the Bill has made major progress to becoming law and we strongly hope the big supermarkets will not play for time and try to reduce the powers of the proposed Ombudsman as it passes through parliament.

"The Bill will now be referred to a standing committee and will need continued Government support to proceed further. The FUW will continue to give Mr Owen its enthusiastic backing and we sincerely hope his fellow Labour MPs will also give him their full support.

"The FUW has vigorously backed Mr Owen's campaign to create greater choice and quality for consumers while providing a fair deal to supermarket suppliers and I was delighted to travel to Westminster this week, together with the union's Anglesey county chairman, vice chairman and executive officer, to show our total support for his efforts.

"His Bill will enable the Government to implement the Competition Commission's recommendation for the creation of a new independent arbiter with the power to settle disputes between major retailers and their suppliers and to investigate possible breaches of the recently introduced Groceries Code of Practice.

"Both the Government and the Opposition have already indicated their support for the principle of an Ombudsman. Today's vote is a major step forward towards fairness for consumers above all but also for suppliers."

A suggestion that dairy cows and some beef cattle be permanently housed so the methane gas they produce can be captured is only a small part of a proposed new strategy on how agriculture and rural land use in Wales can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Farmers' Union of Wales.

The union's deputy director of policy Rhian Nowell-Phillips said the report, presented by the Land Use Climate Change Group to Assembly rural affairs minister Elin Jones, contained a range of data, evidence and possible scenarios which would help inform the debate on future policy decisions.

"We may not believe that everything in it will, or should, happen but for once it does challenge some of the current assumptions that livestock production will have to be drastically reduced in Wales if the Assembly wants to mitigate methane production," she said.

"Food security will be an amazing motivator in the future and I have no doubt there will be a desire to balance the need for increased food production with ways to capture and reuse greenhouse gases.

"In the meantime, some of the practical aspects of the report could help start processes to help farmers identify the win wins for them in starting to mitigate climate change. For example, the use of feed additives to reduce methane, or the reuse of agricultural by-products such as biogas, heat and water, could help reduce fixed costs."

The Farmers' Union of Wales today welcomed the conclusions of the Assembly's rural development sub-committee's inquiry into the new Glastir land management scheme outlined in a letter to rural affairs minister Elin Jones.

The letter by sub-committee chairman Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM calls for greater clarity over the scheme. The chairman of the FUW's land use and parliamentary committee Richard Vaughan gave evidence to the sub-committee when it met in Dolgellau last month.

He highlighted the confusion among farmers and demanded that the scheme be deferred until there is greater clarity of all the options.

"The union fully supports the sub-committee's recommendations urging the Assembly Government to review its decision not to provide project officer support for the entry-level scheme and to consider whether its offices have the capacity to deal with increased demand for support from farmers," said Mr Vaughan.

"Glastir represents a seed change for farmers in Wales and it's high time that the Assembly realised that farmers need time to adapt and more details about the scheme so that they can make the right business decisions."