Welsh Government have done it again – going back on their word to wait until the Covid-19 pandemic was over before considering the issue of rules for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, or so we were led to believe by Minister Lesley Griffiths only a few months ago, writes Hugh Bessent.

In England there are targeted areas where NVZ rules have been applied to protect vulnerable water courses, especially where there is ground water extraction. Northern Ireland have a number of derogations and significant funding for capital investment was provided. In Scotland about 10 per cent of the land, mostly on the eastern coast, has been designated following a thorough process of identifying areas where ground water is most at risk.

However, in Wales, we have again gone for the harshest blanket application of rules of complete NVZs. The rules read exactly out of the European Rule Book, and that at their severest, even though we are no longer in the EU and supposedly not under their jurisdiction. The peaks of Pumlumon and Snowdon are included.

Most worrying is the effect on the small family farm, the small businesses which are the backbone of the countryside in Mid-Wales. In Mid Wales these are mixed farms with a few cows and flocks of sheep which are suited to our environment. Experts usually applaud having cattle on holdings so as to encourage a diversity of habitats.

However, cattle are usually housed during the wintertime to prevent soil and landscape damage. Definitive dates for spreading does not take into account the vagaries of the weather. It is better to spread during a dry spell, whenever the ground conditions allow.

Discussions have been held in Wales, but Welsh Government will not consider a targeted approach. One wonders if the results of this will be the demise of upland suckler herds in Mid-Wales. This is indeed akin to the Highland Clearances in Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries by the Lairds.

I urge all who care about this matter to write to their local MSs Russell George and Kirsty Williams as well as our Regional MSs and to The Minister herself, ahead of a vote in the Senedd on March 3 where a motion will be debated to annul the regulations.