Llyr Gruffydd accused the Government of forcing farmers to ‘farm by the calendar and not with nature’.
In a plenary session in the Senedd, Llyr Gruffydd was responding to increasing frustration in the farming sector on the implication of the new NVZ regulations. The new regulations, which came into effect across Wales in August, regulate how and when farmers can spread slurry on fields.
Llyr Gruffydd, who is Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson on rural affairs, said-
“The slurry stores are still half or three-quarters full, because it has been so wet and the ground’s been so soft, farmers haven’t been able to get that out there onto their fields. So, are they supposed to spread it over the next few days, with the impact that that will have?
“Spreading slurry on water-logged ground will have serious environmental implications. Are they to leave it in the slurry pit, which could possibly overflow in future, because they’ve failed to clear their stores for this closed down period? I imagine there would be more far-reaching consequences if that were to happen.”
The Labour-run Welsh Government have faced mounting criticism over their handling of the agriculture industry in Wales over the past 12 months. The proposes flagship SFS (Sustainable Farming Scheme) attracted huge protests in March, with thousands of farmers gathering on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff. The handling of Bovine TB by the government is a long-standing sticking point for both farmers and environmentalists, and the current regulations around handling of agricultural run-off (The NVZ – Nitrate Vulnerable Zones regulations) are also hugely controversial.
In asking the Government for a statement, Llyr Gruffydd asked Cabinet Secretary Jane Hut-
“What is the Government advice to Welsh farmers on how to meet this deadline that you’ve put on the industry, in light of your decision to adhere to calendar-based farming, when nature, of course, doesn’t keep a close eye on the calendar and operates very differently?”
Note-
In the new regulations that came into force this year, the window for spreading slurry closed on October 1st on tillage land until the 31st of January, and will close on 15th of October until the 15th of January for grazing land.
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