Last Saturday (28 June), tractors flooded Llandudno in protest against government policies, and the Countryside Alliance was there to support them.

Hundreds of farmers, including Countryside Alliance Wales director Rachel Evans, demonstrated outside Welsh Labour’s annual conference.

The rally, organised by Welsh farming campaign group Digon yw Digon (“Enough is Enough”), was aimed at drawing attention to the Labour-run Welsh government’s “disregard” for the farming community. 

Digon yw Digon stated:

“We are a group of farmers who have been monitoring and evaluating the approach towards agriculture, fisheries and food by Welsh and UK governments.

“…we feel our voice as a farming community is being lost. There is total despair in the countryside following the announcement around the agricultural inheritance tax (IHT) that will affect every rural business…

“As a group we have pledged to work and lobby with all political groups. Unfortunately, Labour are not for engaging.”

Countryside Alliance Director for Wales, Rachel Evans, gave a heartfelt speech on stage to the assembled protesters.

She criticised successive governments for implementing policies damaging to the agricultural sector, and warned the current Westminster government that its policies risked turning the countryside into a no-go zone for Labour.

Speaking of her personal experience of the difficulties farmers face, she said:

“When my five-year-old boy says to his dad and me, “I want to be a farmer”, my heart should be filled with joy, but to be honest I feel a little bit sick for him.

“Will this young boy, who has already spent a lot of his childhood farming with us, lambing and calving in all weathers – will he get the chance?

“Yes, I believe he will, because he’s got all you good people fighting for his future and the future of thousands of children – not just farming kids but the kids of local businesses that depend on the sector and the children who need to be fed safely and plentifully across the nation.

“I’m standing here before you today and I see a sector that’s not beaten. The next time my boy turns to me and says, “Mam, I want to be a farmer”, after being here in your company today, I’ll be telling him, “you will be a farmer my boy, you will be…”

With the Welsh elections taking place next year, the issues facing the agricultural sector and rural communities will be of key importance over the coming months. The Countryside Alliance will continue to be the voice of the countryside, standing up for rural Wales and Britain more largely.