New book puts spotlight on Welsh farming
Welsh farmers in 2011 face just as many pressures as their fore-fathers did pre - World War Two. This is the conclusion of a new book - ‘Farming in Wales 1936–2011’ launched to celebrate the Farm Business Survey’s 75th anniversary. Farmers in the 1930s faced hard times but were self-contained and self-sufficient, whilst today pressures imposed by the demands of environmental management, public indifference and how domestic food production and local sourcing has come full circle following decades of reliance on imports, are among the challenges facing the industry. The Farm Business Survey has been conducted by Aberystwyth University since 1936 and is widely recognised as the most authoritative survey of the financial position and performance of farm incomes. The Farm Business Survey team is now part of IBERS - the Institute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences. Written by former Aberystwyth University Professor and renowned local historian Richard Moore- Colyer, ‘Farming in W...