As around 40 percent of livestock farms are aiming to improve animal welfare over the next year, will the Welsh Government follow the lead of the private sector by making grants available to support farmers to drive innovation in animal welfare?
The Welsh Government already provides support to farmers to drive innovation and transformational change in agriculture, including animal welfare, through the Sustainable Production Grant (SPG) and the Farm Business Grant (FBG). Animal health and welfare is expressly referred to in the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, through which both schemes are delivered.
Further information regarding both schemes can be found on the Welsh Government’s website.
In addition to direct grants, Farming Connect delivers knowledge transfer events, training and advice to farmers on animal welfare. These range from open on farm events to learn more about precision farming for example to one to one advice from a consultant on improving building infrastructure.