MP Calls for Government Reset as Farm Incomes in Wales Fall by 34%

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on Labour to reset their relationship with farming and the countryside following the release of statistics showing farming incomes in Wales have fallen by 34% for the period April 2023 to March 2024.

David Chadwick MP, the Liberal Democrats Wales spokesperson in Westminster has said that recent policy failures by both the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff Bay and the UK Government are damaging agriculture and the wider rural economy in Wales and risk making the situation even worse.

Dairy farmers saw their income drop by 59 per cent, while cattle and sheep farms in Wales’s less favoured areas saw average income fall by 9 per cent to £22,200.

The fall in incomes comes in the wake of spiralling energy prices and associated inflation in products like fertilizers with the Welsh Liberal Democrats stating that Labour’s family farms tax (changes to APR and BPR) will only continue to add pressure on a sector that is already struggling to cope.

The Party has argued the changes, alongside economic pressure and bullying behaviour from large supermarkets will lead to more farmers leaving the profession entirely and a further hollowing out of rural communities that are already struggling to cope with rapidly ageing populations.

They have also raised the risk Labour’s policies pose to the Welsh language. With 43% of agricultural workers speaking Welsh (a percentage well above the average within the general population) there is a risk community survival of the language declines if people leave farming and rural areas suffer increased depopulation.

Commenting Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said:

“These figures should be a stark reminder for Labour that the idea farmers are all wealthy and should be targeted to punitive tax raids is for the birds.

“Agricultural incomes have been falling for some time. The last Government did not offer much to help and now the new Government risks making things even worse. If they don’t change course, we will see a continued decline in the rural economy and the hallowing out of our rural communities.

“Labour must end their war on the countryside being waged from both Cardiff Bay and Westminster, cancel the family farms tax and reset their relationship with our farmers. Our food security and the economic viability of rural communities depend on it.”

ENDS