NFU Cymru spelled out the importance of farming to Welsh Assembly members with the launch of the union’s 'We Are Welsh Farming' campaign at the Senedd on Tuesday, May 1.

The campaign, which champions the variety of ways in which farming benefits people and communities in Wales, was launched as part of a celebration of Welsh food and farming event kindly sponsored by Eluned Morgan AM and hosted by NFU Cymru in Cardiff Bay.

The launch saw the screening of a video, starring NFU Cymru members, which showcases the roles farmers play in producing the nation’s food, enhancing the environment, preserving Welsh language and culture, boosting the Welsh economy, supporting tourism and educating the next generation.

The campaign will encourage farmers across Wales to post examples on social media of the wide variety of work they carry out that underlines the important contribution farmers make to life in Wales. Farmers will be encouraged to post their stories under the hashtags #WeAreWelshFarming or #NiYwFfermioCymru.

At the Senedd launch, NFU Cymru president John Davies told AMs that the need for farmers to promote the wide variety of work they carry out is greater than ever before with Brexit on the horizon.

He said: “As farmers we are often guilty of understating just how much we do that is of benefit to wider society – perhaps it’s because we’re busy in our roles as food producers, custodians of our environment, champions of Welsh language and culture, drivers of the rural economy and the people who provide the backdrop for the Welsh tourism industry that we don’t think to promote all the good work we do. It’s that humility that means our story is one that goes relatively untold.

“With Brexit on the horizon and the uncertainty that brings, it has never been more important for farmers to step out of the shadows and shout about the wide variety of work they carry out for the people and communities of Wales. That is why our new NFU Cymru We Are Welsh Farming campaign is so important – it provides farmers with the platform to showcase the diverse range of work they do for the Welsh public. Every farmer in Wales has their own unique story to tell, but each of these stories are, in their own way, truly remarkable and something that we, as a society, should be very proud of and fully acknowledge.”

As part of the NFU Cymru launch, members of the Welsh Assembly’s Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee met with an NFU Cymru member from their region to learn more about the diverse range of ways that farmer’s business benefits the AM’s constituency or region.