West Wales farmer and entrepreneur, Brian Jones, who formed Castell Howell Foods in the early 1980s, has been recognised for his services to agriculture with the Farmers’ Union of Wales External award for services to agriculture.
Presenting the award, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Brian has done so much for agriculture and his passion for Wales as a food destination is infectious. His commitment to do what is good for Wales as well His Celtic Pride brand is an example of that and should serve as an example to others. The award is well and truly deserved and we thank Brian for all he does.”
Well known Welsh TV presenter and farming stalwart Alun Edwards has been recognised for his tremendous dedication to the farming industry with the Farmers’ Union of Wales Internal Award for Services to Agriculture at the Royal Welsh Show.
Alun Elidyr, as he is known in the farming community and on the popular S4C farming series Ffermio, came home to farm at Cae Coch, Rhydymain , Meirionnydd, in 1996, after the sudden loss of his father. This was after a successful acting career – acting in several drama series such as Coleg, Yr Heliwr, Rownd a Rownd, Tipyn o Stad, and Lleifior.
He was determined to see farming and the way of life carrying on in Cae Coch, and particularly to look after his mother at the time.
The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has described a Welsh Government weather summit held at the Royal Welsh Show as an important step in terms of taking action to minimise current and future impacts of the weather on Wales’ agriculture industry.
Speaking after the summit, which was chaired by Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths and attended by farming organisations and rural charities, government officials, Natural Resources Wales, Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water and others, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “A number of extreme weather derogations have been granted by Welsh Government following our requests in June, and we had called for this summit to take place in early July.
“This was therefore a welcome next step, and a number of further actions which could be taken were discussed at the meeting.
In a meeting with Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has stressed the need for urgent contingency planning to buffer the potential harmful consequences of a hard Brexit.
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Both the Welsh Government and FUW are in full agreement that allowing us to leave the EU without retaining full access to the Single Market would be catastrophic.
“We had a very frank discussion with the Cabinet Secretary about the risks of a hard Brexit and current speculation that such an outcome may be more likely than was previously the case.”
Mr Roberts said that the barriers to selling into the EU market due to a hard Brexit could have a similar impact on livestock prices to the export bans introduced in 2001 and 2007 as a result of Foot and Mouth disease.
In a special meeting with Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns and Defra Secretary Michael Gove the Farmers’ Union of Wales has highlighted the need for further clarity on how agricultural funding will be allocated to Wales after Brexit.
Speaking after the meeting, FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “Both Secretaries of State have provided assurances that Wales will receive the same allocation of agricultural funding until 2022, and that this would take place outside the Barnett Formula.”
Mr Roberts said that this had been a key message of the FUW’s #FairFarmFunding campaign, and that the repeated assurances are very welcome.