Welsh Conservatives announce plans to back farmers

Emily Price 

The Conservatives in the Senedd have set out plans to "revive" Wales’ agricultural industry following a series of controversial policies imposed on farmers by the Welsh Government.

The Tory Senedd group will unveil the package of proposed measures at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on Monday (November 24).

The show will be attended by Welsh Conservative Leader Darren Millar and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Samuel Kurtz.

The pair will pledge a number of commitments ahead of the Senedd election next year including a £100m boost to Wales’ farming budget, and a promise to campaign against the UK Government’s controversial agricultural property relief reforms.

The new inheritance tax laws are set to come into effect in April 2026 and will see inherited agricultural assets worth £1m or more taxed at 20%.

The plans sparked significant backlash last year from thousands of farmers who drove their tractors through Westminster in protest.

This week the Tories will also pledge to axe the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS).

The flagship post-Brexit agricultural policy was introduced by Welsh ministers as a replacement for the EU’s Basic Payment Scheme.

It is designed to be good for the environment by integrating sustainable food production with actions that address the climate and nature emergencies.

However, the initial proposal proved highly contentious leading to mass protests across Wales because it required farms to commit 10% of their land to tree cover to qualify for the payments.

U-turn

Wales’ Labour government has since revised the scheme and removed this requirement.

However, the Welsh Tories say the policy should be scrapped entirely and replaced with a scheme that centres on food security and production. 

At the Royal Welsh Winter Fair the Welsh Tories will commit to a science-led TB eradication programme that tackles the disease in livestock and animals.

The party will also promise to scrap the Wales-wide Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ). 

NVZs are an area of land draining into ground or surface waters that are high in nitrate or may become so if appropriate actions are not taken.

Farms within a designated NVZ are restricted on how much nitrogen fertiliser can be applied to the land.

Restrictions

The aim of the restriction it to limit the potential for loss to the wider environment.

Nitrate pollution can also affect drinking water sources if it enters groundwater.

All of Wales was designated an NVZ in 2021 with the measure gradually phased in over a three year period.

The Welsh Tories have been consistently critical of the policy, saying a targeted catchment approach to regulation should be delivered instead.

The party will also commit to new procurement rules to promote Welsh food and drink during their announcement in Builth Wells. 

Commenting ahead of the winter show, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Samuel Kurtz, said: "Farming is the backbone of the rural economy, and we cannot allow Labour to continue overseeing its decline.

"For every £1 of public money invested in farming we deliver £9 back to the economy of Wales, I challenge anyone to find a better return of investment, which is exactly why this industry must be protected.

"The policies we have announced today provide a much-needed boost to a sector neglected for far too long by the Welsh Government.

"Welsh farming needs a friend, and the Welsh Conservatives stand ready to offer a helping hand and be the friend that farming needs."

The Welsh Government and the Labour Party were invited to comment.