On Wednesday, February 5, NFU Cymru will be hosting its Combinable Crops and Horticulture conference where members can hear more about the ongoing issues throughout the sector.

The conference will take place at The Duke of Wellington Hotel, Cowbridge commencing at 11am with lunch included. The event will feature a line-up of speakers providing expert insight and opinion to support combinable crops and horticulture farmers in the running of their businesses. You can register and find more information about the conference on the NFU Cymru website.

Another conference in the pipeline is the NFU Cymru annual Poultry Conference where members can hear more about the ongoing issues in the poultry meat and egg sector. The annual conference will take place at 1pm on Tuesday 4th March at the International Pavilion, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, kindly sponsored by Wynnstay.

The last NFU Cymru Poultry Conference was extremely well attended, with farmers joining us from all over Wales, and I urge poultry farmers to join us again at this year’s event in order to make the most of the expertise available.

Anyone attending this year’s NFU Cymru Poultry Conference is asked to follow strict biosecurity guidance. Most notably, attendees are urged to ensure that vehicles are clean prior to arriving at the venue and that clothing and footwear worn on the evening has not been in the vicinity of a poultry shed.

Thankfully, Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks seem to be, so-far, under control this year in Wales, but farms need to have a plan in place to prevent occurrences of this devastating disease. Credit where credit is due Welsh poultry and egg produces have responded to these messages but remember the reservoir of the virus remains out there in wild birds. So, we continue to repeat the important message that all keepers must practise enhanced biosecurity at all times and to be vigilant for any signs of disease in their flock.

Prevention is certainly better than the cure when it comes to disease control and I implore all farmers to adhere the key principles of keep it out, find it fast, stop it spreading and eradicate it. I would also ask members of the public who keep smaller flocks of birds such as chickens, geese and ducks to also follow Welsh Government’s biosecurity advice. All bird keepers – whether they be larger commercial businesses or those with small ‘backyard’ flocks - have an important part to play in reducing the risk of AI.

Anyone wishing to attend either conference is asked to call the NFU Cymru office on 01982 554200, register on the NFU Cymru website or email [email protected].