Angry Welsh farmers blockade Holyhead Port

Hundreds of fed-up farmers from across Wales descended on Holyhead Port for a tractor protest organised by the farming lobby group Digon yw Digon (“Enough is Enough”) against anti-farming government policies.

About 50 tractors blockaded the port on Wednesday 27 November to demonstrate their concerns over agricultural policies they claim are crippling Welsh family farms.

The peaceful protest began at 10.30pm and continued into the small hours.

It involved tractors, pickups and other farming vehicles creating a blockade that prevented lorries and freight vehicles from entering or leaving the port.

See also: Tractor convoy descends on Dover to protest farm tax raid

Traffic Wales reported heavy congestion in the area on the A55 westbound at around 11pm that but said this had cleared by 4am on Thursday 28 November.

Farmers out in numbers tonight . pic.twitter.com/kkWHrNzJfd

— Gareth Wyn Jones (@1GarethWynJones) November 27, 2024

Gareth Wyn Jones, a sheep and beef farmer based in Llanfairfechan, Conwy, told Farmers Weekly that the farmers’ protest had been well-received by locals.

He said the protest had even gained support from lorry drivers whose work had been disrupted.

Asked why Holyhead Port was targeted, Mr Wyn Jones said: “The aim was to show what could happen if we don’t get food coming into this country and how important our food security is to the nation.

“We have got a great, temperate climate which is perfect for producing beef and lamb. It’s a big part of everything we do.

“Farming is one of the last major industries we have left in this country and we want to protect it.”

Farmers ‘lukewarm’ on SFS

The Welsh government announced earlier this week that it will scrap the 10% tree cover requirement in the upcoming Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).

However, Mr Wyn Jones said the mood among farmers about the scheme was “lukewarm”, as the 10% biodiversity requirement remains in place.

“We’re not going to be sitting down and taking inheritance taxes and the SFS proposals lightly,” he added.

“Farmers are also struggling with draconian NVZ [nitrate vulnerable zones] rules an TB remains a massive problem for cattle farmers.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a separate tractor protest took place near Dover port which was organised jointly by the Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent farming lobby groups.

The Dover demo was held in protest against the Labour government’s plans to introduce farm inheritance tax (IHT) from April 2026 and a barrage of other policies announced in the Autumn Budget.