Senedd votes down Tory bid to scrap Sustainable Farming Scheme

A Welsh Conservative motion to scrap the Welsh government’s proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) was rejected in the Senedd yesterday, with Labour and Plaid Cymru members voting against the proposal.

The motion, which cited the Welsh government’s own economic impact assessment predicting the loss of 56,000 livestock units, 1,163 on-farm jobs, and £76.3m in farm business income, was defeated by 31 votes to 11.

Welsh Conservatives argued the SFS would accelerate the “managed decline” of Welsh agriculture.

See also: Welsh Conservatives call for SFS to be scrapped

They urged the government to replace it with a scheme that puts food production and security at its core.

Commenting after the debate on Wednesday (8 October), Samuel Kurtz MS, Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for rural affairs, said: “Once again, it is only the Welsh Conservatives who are standing up for our farmers.

“Farmers are already under immense pressure from Labour’s family farm tax, their failure to eradicate bovine TB, and the unworkable NVZ regulations.

“The last thing they need is a scheme that makes it even harder to farm, produce food, and earn a living.

“We are clear: a Welsh Conservative government would not allow the managed decline of the agricultural industry in Wales that Labour is presiding over.”

Mr Kurtz also criticised the scheme’s modelling, saying it “doesn’t withstand scrutiny” and that it prioritised “bureaucracy over practicality”.

Supporting the motion, fellow Conservative MS Peter Fox said: “Can this be classed as a sustainable farming scheme when it threatens the industry, making it less sustainable in so many ways?”

Labour and Plaid defend scheme

However, Labour and Plaid Cymru defended the scheme and called for continued refinement rather than abandonment.

Deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies accused the Conservatives of misrepresenting the data.

“Nowhere does it say that job losses, livestock number reductions, or reductions in farm business income will definitively happen,” he told the Senedd.

“We are allowing, enabling farmers to make their management decisions, including on stocking levels, based on what works for their farms.

“Farmers are actually quite bright in the way they manage their farms.”

Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd MS also rejected the motion, warning against “ripping it all up and starting again”.

Earlier, both NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales rejected calls to scrap the SFS.

Instead, they urged the Welsh government to continue refining the proposals to safeguard family farm businesses.

Lobby group Digon Yw Digon called for replacing restrictive SFS rules with a focus on food production and a budget that reflects current environmental efforts and inflation, “not the stagnant 15-year budget”.

Despite the defeat, the Welsh Conservatives pledged to continue opposing the scheme ahead of its planned implementation in January 2026.