Madam,

I am writing following the Plaid Cymru budget deal with the Welsh Government. As part of this, I secured £6m over two years for a new grant scheme to help young farmers get on their feet.

Currently the average age of farmers in Wales is over 60 - just three per cent are under 35.

To secure the future of the industry in the teeth of the challenge of Brexit, more young entrants are needed.

I would like to hear from your readers if they were one of the 520 young people that were able to enter the farming industry when Plaid Cymru helped establish the previous Young Entrants Support Scheme in 2010.

How did the scheme help you? How is your business doing now? What do you think the new scheme should aim to achieve?

Please contact me via email ([email protected]s), social media (Facebook.com/SimonThomasPlaid or Twitter @SimonThomasAC), phone (01970 624984) or write.

Yours etc,

Simon Thomas AM, Ty Goronwy, Heol y Wig, Aberystwyth.

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