Western Mail

Second Week of Political Pain Ahead for Troubled Labour

Welsh Beef Exports to Resume

One hundred calves from Wales are expected to form part of the first British beef exports for a decade this week. They are part of a shipment of 1,000 from 30 British farms scheduled to leave Dover on a chartered ferry to Calais on Thursday. The newly-formed Anglo European Farmers co-operative (AEF) is hoping no last-minute hitches delay the resumption of an export trade that halted with the ban on British beef exports brought in 10 years ago as part of measures to stem the spread of BSE. 'Ev...

Building a Farm Future for the Whole Family

Most farming families hope that their farm will enable at least one of the children to follow in their footsteps. Geraint and Chris Thomas want their 300-acre Breconshire farm to provide a living for all five. Four of their five children - one-year-old Ollie has yet to make up her mind - want to stay on at the 300-acre Gilestone Farm in Talybont-on-Usk, and that has persuaded the couple to invest heavily. Their luxury caravan and camping park and farm shop opens at the end of May and they pla...

Mobile Phone Cheats Onincrease in School Exams

The number of children caught cheating in exams in Welsh schools has more than doubled in 12 months, official figures reveal today. The body in charge of exams, the WJEC, says there were 281 cases of cheating in 2005 - with instances of mobile phones ringing during exams going up by around a third. And as the exam season begins in Welsh schools, students have been warned if they do cheat they face disqualification.

Open Day for Hill Ponies

Rare breeds of hill ponies from across southern Wales come together at Glanusk Park near Crickhowell on May 14 for the first open day organised by the Hill Pony Improvement Societies of Wales. Ponies from 25 improvement societies from the Gower to the Black Mountain will be on parade, along with shire horses and some rare breeds of sheep.

Tv Presenter Receives Special Fuw Award

The first Farmers Union of Wales Barclays Bank award for Outstanding Service to Welsh Agriculture was presented to the farmer and television presenter Dai Jones Llanilar before nearly 300 guests at a gala dinner in Aberystwyth. FUW president Gareth Vaughan described him as an exceptional ambassador for Welsh agriculture over many years.

Pig Meat Imports On the Increase

Pig meat is being imported to this country in increasing quantities, putting British produce under ever-greater pressure. The latest imports report produced by the British Pig Executive shows an increase of 35% since 2001.

U-Turn On Tallow Burning Helps Pull Farmers' Fat Out of the Fire

A remarkable U-turn by the Government has halted moves that could have added pounds 10 to the cost of selling an animal and also increased global warming. UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley agreed last week to suspend a ban on burning tallow just two days after it had been put into effect. Mr Morley acted after two days of hastily-arranged meetings with representatives of the rendering and livestock industries. 'It was absolute nonsense and would have crippled the slaughterhouse industry a...

Wales in Clear As 'Washout' Weekend Stays Dry

Wales' tourist industry has been pleasantly surprised after gloomy predictions of a rain-bound, deserted May Bank Holiday weekend proved unfounded. Some had feared a washout yesterday and on Sunday after a good start on Saturday. But, while blistering sunshine never became an option across the nation, rain reserved itself for Sunday night. And many operators, who had been expecting a quiet weekend because the four-day Easter break was just two weeks before, were pleased by the volume of bank ...

Tycoon Trump Tees Off a New Golfing Hotel Contest, but He's Still Trailing Celtic's Sir Terry

American tycoon Donald Trump has followed a billionaire Welshman's lead by embarking on a pounds 300m project to create a golf course and five-star hotel capable of hosting international tournaments. Mr Trump was in Scotland this May Bank Holiday weekend preparing to tee off at the first, while Sir Terry Matthews is at the 19th hole toasting the success of his investment in Celtic Manor golf resort. The five-star complex near Newport, in his native South Wales, will host the Ryder Cup in 2010...

Has Hunting Act Hurt Livestock?

With lambing well under way a questionnaire that aims to establish the effect of the Hunting Act on livestock farmers is being sent out to farms across Wales. The questionnaire, launched jointly by NFU Cymru, FUW, CLA Wales and the National Sheep Association, will look at farmers' ability to protect their newly-born lambs and other livestock from foxes.

Loss of Tir Mynydd 'a Language Threat'

PLAID CYMRU'S Shadow Minister for the Countryside Elin Jones has welcomed the Welsh Language Board's recognition of the importance of a viable agriculture industry to the future of the Welsh Language. The Ceredigion AM, who opposes proposals to abolish Tir Mynydd, called on the Assembly Government to assess the impact of the loss of Tir Mynydd on employment in the Welsh uplands and on the Welsh Language.

Water Abstraction Plans for Rivers

ENVIRONMENT Agency Wales has launched a Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy for the Tywi, Taf and Gwendraeth river catchments. The document will help business and individuals to investigate water resources before applying for an abstraction licence and will enable sustainable management of water resources in the three rivers over the next six years.

Ensuring Our Common Future

Village greens and common land grazing rights are being secured for future generations with new legislation. A new Commons Bill will replace a patchwork of laws covering 2,000 square miles of common land in England and Wales. UK Environment Minister Elliot Morley described commons, which include 8.4% of the land surface of Wales, about one-third of Dartmoor and most village greens, as 'fundamental to the character of our countryside' and a 'reservoir of biodiversity'. Under the new legislatio...

D-Day for Pre-Movement Testing of Cattle to Guard Against Bovine Tb

Last December I announced a package of measures to control bovine TB in Wales, developed in order to balance agricultural and wildlife management issues. One of the measures was the introduction of pre- movement testing. Pre-movement testing of cattle, to help reduce the risk of spreading bovine TB through cattle movements, comes into force today in Wales.

Labour Applicants Line Up to Try and Recapture Law's Seat

Two former MPs, an ex-AM and the leader of the Welsh Local Government Association are among 25 applicants wanting to win the Blaenau Gwent parliamentary seat back for Labour. Yesterday the party released the full list of would-be candidates for the by- election caused by the death of Independent MP Peter Law. Labour, which has come in for heavy criticism for prematurely campaigning in Blaenau Gwent following Mr Law's death from a brain tumour last Tuesday, stressed that all those on the list ...

All Eyes On Labour As Clarke Tries to Avoid Making a Spectacle

Home Secretary Charles Clarke was last night resisting calls to report to the Commons today on the progress of a massive operation to track down more than 1,000 foreign criminals who were released from prison but not deported. The Home Office has rebuffed Tory demands for an urgent statement to MPs, repeating Mr Clarke's previous assurance that he would provide an update by the end of the week.

Two More Women in Prescott Sex Claims

Beleaguered John Prescott broke cover last night after another day of revelations about his private life. The Deputy Prime Minister emerged from his constituency home in Hull for the first time after lying low for most of the Bank Holiday weekend. Mr Prescott, facing calls to quit over his affair with former diary secretary Tracey Temple, woke yesterday to allegations by two more women. A former Labour parliamentary candidate claimed she had a two-year affair with Mr Prescott 20 years ago, wh...

A Drop of Camel Milk for Dessert?

How do you take your coffee, with sugar, cream - or perhaps camel's milk? Yes, the milk of the 'ship of the desert' is set to take its place in chillers alongside the yield of more traditional milk-producing mammals. Famed for its ability to go for days without food or water in blistering temperatures and arid landscapes, the camel to the Western world has primarily been the transportation mainstay of hundreds of desert films. But to the indigenous people the camel has for thousands of years ...

Learning From the 'Phantom Ewe'

Liz Shankland has been getting ready for next year's lambing season on a course designed specifically for smallholders who are new to sheep THERE'S nothing like a bit of forward planning. I've only been a sheep owner a few weeks, but already I'm thinking ahead to this time next year, and the possibility of having some home-bred lambs running around the fields.