The Welsh Government's decision to bring forward regulations that will see the whole of Wales designated as a nitrate vulnerable zone from 1 April has certainly caused an immense amount of frustration and anxiety for farmers in my constituency. The volume of e-mails I've received on this issue demonstrates just that. As someone from a farming family myself and as someone who has married into a dairy farming family, I'd like to think I'm acutely aware of the impact that these proposals will have not just on the financial viability of many farms but also on the mental health of farmers, who face these regulations during a global pandemic. Indeed, the very fact that the Welsh Government has had this issue hanging over the farming sector for several years now has caused a lot of anxiety, uncertainty and, indeed, frustration, and it's deeply disappointing that the Welsh Government now intend to introduce these regulations, especially when they promised not to do so during a pandemic. The excessive burden that these regulations will put on farmers will do nothing to attract people to farming, and therefore I believe that it will seriously damage the industry in the long term. Indeed, the many e-mails I've received tell me that, sadly, many farmers will be forced out of business because of these regulations.

Now, the Welsh Government tell us that the regulations are necessary to tackle water pollution, but the portal run by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales, which was sent to me by the Members' Research Service, shows that, in the last year or so, only up to 15 per cent of pollution occurrences were caused by agricultural incidents. As Angela Burns said, these regulations are a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Now, the Welsh Government's approach also fails to take into account some of the good work already being done by farmers across Wales. For example, in my own constituency, the Wales catchment sensitive farming demonstration project is an example of a very successful voluntary scheme that was well received by farmers. There was also an offset scheme operated successfully by a group of First Milk farmers in the Cleddau catchment, led by local farmers Will Pritchard and Mike Smith, which also delivered a workable alternative delivering measurable reductions in nitrates. Therefore, it was deeply disappointing that the Welsh Government has not sought to build on this activity and develop a solution that works with our farming sector and not against it.

Now, as you would expect, local farmers in Pembrokeshire have raised several issues with the regulations, for example, the closed periods, as we've already heard, for spreading do not take into account the weather conditions that farmers have to work with, and the prolonged wet weather has an impact on the ability to undertake slurry spreading and storage. As has already been said, there are also concerns over the regulation that stipulates that farms in Wales can't exceed a certain amount of nitrogen per hectare, while in other parts of the UK, the limits are much more flexible. To put this into context, one business has made it clear that they will either have to find another 125 acres of land to support their current stock numbers or reduce their stock levels, which will have a significant impact on their output and therefore their business. This shows the very real impact that these regulations will have on farmers, and how some of them will now be forced to make huge decisions that will impact their livelihoods.

And the Welsh Government has committed to providing some financial assistance to farmers in order to help them comply with the regulations, but the £13 million offered by the Welsh Government does not sufficiently support the farming sector, and there's no mention in the Welsh Government's statements about the support that the Welsh Government should be making available to businesses that have had to reduce their stock levels because of these regulations. So, therefore, perhaps the Minister will take the opportunity today to spell out exactly what support will be offered to farmers who have had to reduce stock or accrue additional land to comply with these regulations.

And finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, I believe these regulations will harm the future of the sector in the long run, and they will do little to attract the younger generations into farming, and so the Welsh Government must consider all of these wider consequences and find an approach to tackling water pollution that is not only evidence based and proportionate but that ultimately works with the industry and does not destabilise its future. I therefore urge Members to support the Welsh Conservatives' motion.