“The arable sector is a vital part of our food and farming industry” – this was the key message emerging from a recent Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru on-farm arable meeting held at Penfeidr Farm in Castlemorris by kind permission of the Raymond family.

The meeting commenced with a tour of some of the crops grown on the farm, before members received an update from Tom Bradshaw, NFU combinable crops board chairman, who discussed the work of the NFU in the arable sector.

Speaking after the meeting, Nicholas Evans, Pembrokeshire NFU combinable crops chair said: “As an arable farmer, I think we should be very proud of the role we play in providing a plethora of home-produced raw materials that are crucial to our food and animal feed manufacturing sectors.

"The crops we produce underpin our whole food and drink industry and contribute very positively to the economy, environment and to wider society.

"We’re also responsible for creating and maintaining many of the iconic countryside landscapes here in Pembrokeshire that are enjoyed by local people and thousands of visitors to the area. At the same time we’re delivering the raw ingredients for the safe, traceable and affordable food that every citizen needs.”

Pembrokeshire NFU Cymru county chair, Clare Morgan, added: “For the farming industry, improving the efficiency of our production systems, alongside encouraging carbon capture, and boosting our production of renewable energy will be key to help meet our ambitious goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of agriculture in Wales and England by 2040.

"However, let me be clear that getting to net zero emissions doesn’t mean downsizing our food production here in Wales, and should not lead to us off-shoring both our food production and environmental conscience to overseas.”

Mrs Morgan concluded: “I’m very grateful to Tom Bradshaw for travelling down from Essex to speak to us and also to the Raymond family for hosting the meeting and for demonstrating some of the top quality crops that are grown in Pembrokeshire.”