Click here to read Part One.
You would never realise this from the rhetoric put out by the Welsh farming industry. Its emphasis is always on the cosy image of ‘family farms’ ‘feeding the nation’ and ‘looking after the wildlife’ on their land. Given the massive loss of wildlife that has taken place on farmland and the fact that a large proportion of Welsh farming products is exported, this is quite misleading. ‘Looking after what is left of the wildlife’ would be more accurate. One might sympathise with the argument that the prices that farmers receive for their products (by supermarkets, for example) force them to intensify their methods. But it does not take into account the fact that the majority – sometimes a very large majority- of their income is guaranteed anyway by the simple fact that they own (or rent) land. Any attempt to improve the lot of nature on farmland has been loudly criticised by the farming unions, and by and large Governments have backed down.
None of this is to decry the minority of farmers who use organic, nature-friendly or regenerative methods. These individuals are a beacon of hope amongst the majority, many of whom seem to believe that they are entitled to do whatever they like with their land, no matter what the cost to nature, and despite the fact they are receiving massive public funding.
Following the UK’s exit from the European Union a change began to take place in its Government’s attitude towards nature loss and agriculture. There was (at last) a recognition that the intensification of farming has led to the loss of wildlife on a massive scale. The new mantra became “Public Goods for Public Money”. In Wales this resulted in the development of the Sustainable Farming Scheme , despite furious objections from the farming unions and a hardcore of recalcitrant farmers.
In its current form the new ‘Universal Layer’ includes a requirement that 10% of land on any farm should be retained as or returned to ‘habitat’, plus other measures to support wildlife. Phasing-in of the Universal Layer of the SFS began during 2026 but in its first year only half of Welsh farmers had entered it. The remainder were content to take a 40% cut in their Basic Payment and to carry on under the old regime. It remains to be be seen if they will be able to hold out without subsidies as the Basic Payment is progressively reduced. But with an adequate level of funding, and with the addition of the ‘Optional’ and ‘Collaborative’ Layers in years to come, the tide may at last be turning on the loss of wildlife on farmland in Wales.
JEREMY MOORE : October 2026
(With apologies to Tom for re-ordering his text!)
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