This morning, Tom Bradshaw, the new national president of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales, was on BBC's Today programme explaining the feeling among farmers.

"I really don't feel at the moment in England that we are at breaking point."

But, he added: "We've got an incredibly febrile atmosphere. We have seen exactly what's happened across Europe with many protests."

He explained the main issue for English farmers at the moment is "fairness in the supply chain and the fact that the market has been undercut by imports", rather than the subsidy row as is the case in Wales.

Bradshaw criticised the new Welsh farming policies, saying they are "going to have a really damaging impact on the way farming in Wales will be able to carry on and it will have huge impacts for next generations".

Roads into Cardiff are starting to get busy now.

A main road in Cardiff Bay, where the protest is being held, is to shut so protesters can park ahead of the Senedd demonstration.

Police have also closed the A4232 Eastern Bay Bay Link Road dual carriageway - between Cardiff Bay and Ocean Way.

"Protesters will then be able to walk to the Senedd area where they will join the protest which has been organised by the National Farmers Union and the Farmers' Union of Wales," a South Wales Police statement reads.

Cardiff council has already said the A48 from Cowbridge to Culverhouse Cross is "very busy" and is advising drivers to "consider an alternative route".

South Wales Police has issued an order that says participants must follow an approved route and park in a designated area.

Image source, Jacob Anthony

Image source, X

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford says he is in Brussels today, meaning he won't be in Cardiff during the protest.

Drakeford posted a picture of himself, external sitting on a train on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday evening, with the caption: "En route to Brussels to show the best of Wales ahead of St David's Day."

Aled Scourfield
Reporting from Pembrokeshire

A bus of farming campaigners set off this morning from Crymych, Pembrokeshire, where a sheep sale has been postponed so supporters can attend the demonstration.

Police have urged protesters not to bring their tractors to today's demonstration, as motorists were warned it could cause travel disruption.

Image source, PA Media

At the moment the main scheme for subsidising farmers across Britain is the basic payment scheme (BPS).

It provides an annual payment to most farms – the rate of which depends on location and land type.

But after the UK left the European Union, a new scheme to support agriculture had to be drawn up.

The BPS will continue until 2025 across all nations - but England and Wales plan on phasing it out from then.

New farming subsidy schemes are are being designed separately in Wales and Scotland by the devolved governments, while the UK government manages them in England.

Scotland will introduce new conditions for farmers to meet to receive the BPS payment while England and Wales will introduce new schemes all together.

All of these are focused on making sure there is more effort to support tree planting, climate change measures and protect biodiversity.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently attacked the Welsh proposal, but the government in Cardiff argues it is better than the proposals for England.

The Welsh government says: "The UK government has not maintained BPS at the same levels in England and, unlike what the UK government has done in England, we are not proposing to bring forward fragmented schemes."

Image source, Mike Alexander/The Wildlife Trusts/PA Wire

The Welsh government hopes farmers having 10% of tree cover and 10% of wildlife habitat on their land will address the declining state of the environment in the country - which is mirrored in other parts of the UK.

The 2023 State of Nature Report, external from the country’s key conservation groups, including Natural Resources Wales, shows that one in six Welsh species are threatened with extinction and wildlife has decreased on average by 20% since 1994.

In response more than 40 organisations wrote to the Welsh government saying Wales has become "one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world".

The report says the way agricultural land is managed is “the most significant factor driving species population change”, with climate change coming second.

According to government data, external Wales has significantly more of its land dedicated to farming that other regions of the UK - 80% compared to 68% in England.

Farming can cause wildlife loss because it introduces chemicals into soil and waterways from pesticides, and the conversion of land can remove trees and reduce the diversity of habitats.

The spark that ignited the flame in Wales is the publication of the latest consultation on the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

This is the Welsh government's big plan for funding the industry after Brexit - which puts a lot more emphasis on the environment.

In order to gain access to the scheme, farmers will have to commit to having trees on 10% of their land and earmark another 10% as wildlife habitat.

Arguing that this isn't practical while keeping a farm business going, many are concerned that the other requirements of the scheme will overwhelm them with paperwork.

On the other hand, the government is also under pressure from environmentalists to ensure that the plan is ambitious.

As 80% of Wales' landscape is under the care of farmers, the argument is that they have a key role to play in helping the effort to tackle climate change and the losses in nature.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage as thousands of farmers are gathering near Cardiff Bay ahead of a mass protest against the Welsh government's new environmental subsidy plans.

The proposals, which would require farmers to commit 10% of agricultural land to be used for trees and another 10% for wildlife habitat, have been branded "unworkable" by unions.

However, the Welsh government insists it is listening to their concerns and on Tuesday, it announced it would consider an "evidence-based review" into the policy.

We're expecting the protest to get under way around 12:00, so stick with us for the latest developments.