4. Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's policies for supporting farming? OAQ54478

Thank you. The Welsh Government provides substantial assistance to help farm businesses improve their financial and environmental performance. Through 'Sustainable Farming and our Land', the Welsh Government is developing a comprehensive modern agricultural policy, which will encourage resilience, sustainability and prosperity.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. I think Llyr Gruffydd has pretty much maxed out all the subjects to question you on in farming in the last couple of questions. He's even written to me as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. But with regard to the 'Sustainable Farming and our Land' consultation that Llyr mentioned, that's obviously well under way—been under way for some time. I've had extensive discussions with the National Farmers Union and the Farmers Union of Wales, particularly over the summer—I'm sure you have as well—at the variety of agricultural shows around Wales. I wonder if you could update us on where we are at the moment with that consultation. The farmers I saw have welcomed some of the changes that have been taken on board by the Welsh Government. I think the term 'land managers'—'farmers' is being used more now in the document, which I know is to their liking, and says more about how they're dealing with their particular land management issues. Are you planning any other significant changes? And if you could just give us a general idea of where we are with that consultation and if there's anything else you would like to see from the farming community in Wales in terms of positive suggestions for this consultation, so we can get the best policy in the long run that we can all unite behind.

Thank you. Certainly, in my discussions over the summer at the Royal Welsh Show and other agricultural shows I attended, it was very clear that the farming unions, in particular, and individual farmers, had welcomed the change in tone perhaps from 'Brexit and our land' to 'Sustainable Farming and our Land'. It is out to consultation—we have until 30 October—so, I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to remind everyone to please bring forward your responses to that consultation. I understand, the last time I asked, which was probably about three days ago, we'd had over 2,000 responses to date. Last year, we had 12,000, so you can see I would really like to get around that number again—particularly individual responses; I'm very interested in people's specific views. So, it's too early, obviously, to say what I expect to come out of that consultation, but what I do want to reiterate is it's a meaningful consultation and I really do want to hear from everybody.