This Week in Farming: Welsh Ag Act, land prices and tanks

Siwmae a croeso (hello and welcome) to a Welsh-led edition of This Week in Farming.

Farm policy in Cymru is just one of five key topics that have been driving traffic to the Farmers Weekly website this week.

Read on to find them all and what’s coming up in the next edition of the FW podcast.

Welsh Agriculture Act done and dusted

The voting is over and the framework for Wales’ future farm policies are on the statute book.

We’ve run down all of the key points on what this means for the future of Welsh farming.

Of particular concern is the requirement – with some caveats –­ for every farm to have 10% tree cover, which we look at in more detail in a separate piece.

The end of the legislative process coincides with Farmers’ Union of Wales president Glyn Roberts stepping down from the helm. Here, he reflects on his eight-year tenure that has encompassed Brexit, the pandemic, and ag-inflation.

Dairy contract reform – at long last

Across the Welsh border, the big farm policy news this week was unveiled by farming minister Mark Spencer at the Great Yorkshire Show.

After an interminable three-year wait, Defra has finally revealed the extent to which it will tinker with dairy contracts to try and tip the balance a little more in favour of the farmer.

If you want the long view, then look back to my piece from 2020 that plotted the development of milk policy from the Milk Marketing Board’s foundation in 1933 to the present day.

Harvest latest

Further rain has hampered the free-flowing start to harvest that many will have hoped for, with reports from around the country of almost-ready crops getting floored by heavy showers.

We’ve spoke to farmers in Hampshire and Berkshire about how they’ve found the winter barley harvest so far.

And if you’re a happy snapper, then keep the camera handy once you do swing into action for a chance to see your picture on the front cover of FW in our harvest photo competition.

Tanks to the rescue

Making the most of breaks in the weather is essential, which is why many folk with land far from the yard deploy a portable fuel tank at this year to keep kit moving.

If your current setup looks like it’s no longer fully fit for purpose, then check out the range of options on offer – including tanks suitable for towing, mounting on linkage and fixing to a flatbed truck.

We’ve also got this handy guide to retrofitting yield-measuring tech to combines without the ability built in.

Land market latest

To round things off this week, there’s an in-depth look at what the land market has been doing so far in 2023.

Supply, demand and average-per-acre prices have all climbed since the turn of the year, but there’s plenty of variation in the detail.

Get the latest on what’s been happening in England, Scotland and Wales right here.

We’ve also got the latest on the rental market, including some promising signs that tenancy durations are increasing.

FW podcast

Coming up in this week’s edition of the Farmers Weekly podcast – deputy editor Abi Kay brings you the very latest reaction on farming’s biggest stories from the Great Yorkshire Show.

Meanwhile, Johann and Hugh take a close look at the latest shocking farm safety statistics ahead of Farm Safety Week.

Listen here or bring us with you in the cab by downloading it from your usual podcast platform.