Farming
Family farms in Wales are becoming the frontline of a political battle that cuts to the heart of rural life. In Carmarthenshire, farmers say they are being pushed to breaking point by policies they argue misunderstand — and undervalue — the realities of agricultural communities. Controversial tax reforms, shrinking rural budgets, rising crime, and climate‑driven pressures have ignited fierce debate over whether government decisions are protecting or undermining the very people who sustain Wales’s food supply and cultural heritage. As tensions rise between farming unions, political parties, and ministers in Cardiff Bay, the future of rural Wales is becoming a defining test of political priorities and leadership.
Welsh family farms under siege — tax, crime, and cuts threaten the backbone of rural Wales
Carmarthenshire’s farmers are warning of a crisis that threatens the backbone of rural Wales. Falling incomes, punitive inheritance tax changes, rural crime, and labour shortages are driving family farms to the brink.
Labour’s “Family Farms Tax” caps inheritance‑tax relief on agricultural land, sparking outrage from the Welsh Liberal Democrats, and farming unions. Farmers argue they are not “millionaire estates” but businesses scraping a living, vital to food security and the Welsh language. Finally, Labour have relented and increased the threshold at which inheritance tax is paid.
Climate change is hitting Carmarthenshire’s farmers through extreme weather, rising costs, and new regulatory pressures. Warmer conditions also increase the spread of pests and diseases, such as Bluetongue and Bovine TB. Flooding, drought, heat stress on livestock, and soil degradation are already reshaping farming practices, while government reforms demand greener methods that require costly adaptation.
The Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) promises greener support, but farmers fear underfunding and bureaucracy. The Lib Dems are pushing for a U‑turn on the tax, ringfenced funding, and practical sustainability, alongside bold ideas like a “Farm First” programme to attract young farmers and a “Countryside Copper Guarantee” to tackle rural crime.
This is more than economics — it’s about protecting livelihoods, culture, and the future of rural Wales.
Farmers don’t want handouts they want fairness, security, and a future for their children.
Ffermydd teuluol Cymru dan warchae — trethi, troseddu a thoriadau yn bygwth asgwrn cefn cefn gwlad Cymru
Mae ffermwyr Sir Gâr yn rhybuddio am argyfwng sy’n bygwth asgwrn cefn cefn gwlad Cymru. Mae incwm yn disgyn, newidiadau cosbol i dreth etifeddiant, troseddu gwledig a phrinder llafur yn gwthio ffermydd teuluol at y dibyn.
Mae “Treth Ffermydd Teuluol” Llafur yn capio’r rhyddhad treth etifeddiant ar dir amaethyddol, gan sbarduno dicter gan Ddemocratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru ac undebau ffermio. Mae ffermwyr yn dadlau nad ydynt yn “ystadau miliwnyddion” ond yn fusnesau sy’n crafu bywoliaeth, yn hanfodol i ddiogelwch bwyd ac i’r iaith Gymraeg. Yn olaf, mae Llafur wedi ildio ac wedi cynyddu’r trothwy y telir treth etifeddiant arno.
Mae newid hinsawdd yn taro ffermwyr Sir Gâr drwy dywydd eithafol, costau cynyddol a phwysau rheoleiddiol newydd. Mae amodau cynhesach hefyd yn cynyddu lledaeniad plâu a chlefydau fel Glasdant a TB Buchol. Mae llifogydd, sychder, straen gwres ar dda byw a diraddiad pridd eisoes yn ail-lunio arferion ffermio, tra bod diwygio gan y llywodraeth yn mynnu dulliau gwyrddach sy’n gofyn am addasu costus.
Mae Cynllun Ffermio Cynaliadwy (SFS) Llywodraeth Cymru yn addo cefnogaeth wyrddach, ond mae ffermwyr yn ofni tanariannu a biwrocratiaeth. Mae’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol yn pwyso am dro pedol ar y dreth, cyllid wedi’i glustnodi, a chynaliadwyedd ymarferol, ochr yn ochr â syniadau beiddgar fel rhaglen “Fferm yn Gyntaf” i ddenu ffermwyr ifanc a “Gwarant Cwnstabl Cefn Gwlad” i fynd i’r afael â throseddu gwledig.
Mae hyn yn fwy na dim ond economi — mae’n ymwneud â diogelu bywoliaethau, diwylliant a dyfodol cefn gwlad Cymru.
Nid yw ffermwyr eisiau rhoddion — maent eisiau tegwch, diogelwch a dyfodol i’w plant.