What action is the Minister taking to support Welsh arable farmers plough any land set aside, given the impact of the war in Ukraine on grain?
We are monitoring the position closely through the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) and will continue to maintain dialogue with our stakeholders as the situation develops. Whilst we are aware of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on grain supply and global prices, we currently have no plans to support Welsh arable farmers to plough land set aside under the Glastir scheme.
The Welsh Government’s Glastir Advanced agri-environment scheme supports Welsh farmers to set aside arable land, such as rough grass margins, fallow margins and uncropped cereal headlands. Compared to traditional set aside, where whole fields of arable land were supported to remain fallow, these are relatively small areas taken out of production and, although they could be bought back into production, there would be limited gains in yield and detrimental consequences for our native biodiversity.