Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru county officeholders recently hosted two MSs at an on-farm meeting.

Sam Kurtz, new MS for the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire constituency, and Paul Davies, MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire, were welcomed to the Cosheston farm of Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru county chairman, Roger Lewis and family.

Several topical issues were discussed including the development of a future agricultural policy in Wales, concerns about the implementation of water quality regulations recently introduced by Welsh Government, as well as bovine TB and its impact on farming families in Pembrokeshire.

Those present discussed future trade agreements and their potential impacts and opportunities for Welsh farming, as well as climate change and NFU Cymru’s net zero aspirations.

Speaking after the meeting, Roger Lewis said: “I’m grateful to Sam Kurtz and Paul Davies for coming to meet with us and to have the opportunity to share with them both our concerns about a number of issues affecting the farming community in Pembrokeshire at the present time.

"We also shared our vision and aspiration for a productive, profitable, and progressive Welsh farming industry that ensures a stable supply of high quality, climate friendly food.

"As farmers, we have a key role to play in supporting Wales’s green economic recovery, allowing nature to thrive and to sustain our rural communities, however we will need Welsh Government to put in place the framework to support us as we strive towards this goal.

“Like many farmers in Wales, we have made significant financial investments in recent years to improve the infrastructure of the farm to help make our business more viable and more sustainable and I was glad to have the opportunity to show these at first hand to Sam Kurtz and Paul Davies.

"However, the viability of our farming businesses is threatened by issues like bovine TB and the recent introduction of an all-Wales nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) which impacts every farmer in every sector of the industry in Wales.

"The draconian record keeping, complex restrictions on the day-to-day running of our businesses and, for many of us, exorbitant costs to ensure compliance will inhibit our ambition to sustainably develop and grow our businesses.”

He concluded: “The decisions made in Cardiff Bay have a huge impact on the shape of our industry, and we cannot afford to get these things wrong. With Sam Kurtz having been appointed as the Welsh Conservatives Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs and Paul Davies elected as chair of the economy, trade and rural affairs committee in the Senedd, we are looking to them both to take a strong lead in scrutinising the policies being taken forward by Welsh Government.”