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Bedwyr Jones[/caption]
THE Farmers' Union of Wales' official candidate, Bedwyr Jones of Gwastadanas Farm, Nant Gwynant, near Beddgelert, has won the British Wool Marketing Board's (BWMB) North Wales regional seat election.
Mr Jones received 11,386 votes - 1,827 more than the runner-up in a four-cornered poll - compared to second-placed Huw Evans' 9,559 votes. Two other FUW members - Steven Smith, of Castle Caereinion, near Welshpool (5,783 votes) and John Foulkes, of Penymynydd, Anglesey (3,063) - were third and fourth respectively.
Mr Jones, a 39-year-old beef and sheep farmer, is the current chairman of BWMB's Welsh regional committee.
He has been farming in partnership with his wife Helen at Gwastadanas Farm since 1996 when they were successful with their application for the tenancy of the 3,000-acre farm on the side of Snowdon.
They inherited a flock of 1,600 Welsh Mountain ewes and 14 suckler cows when they moved in to Gwastadanas. They then bought Bodrwnsiwn Farm, Ty Croes, on Anglesey in 2002, a 200-acre lowland farm, after which their livestock numbers increased to 2,000 breeding Welsh Mountain ewes and 400 New Zealand Romney X ewes.
All ram lambs are either fattened or sold as breeding rams in the popular annual sale held at Gwastadanas when around 50 Welsh Mountain rams and 20 New Zealand Romney rams are sold. Some cross ewe lambs are sold on for breeding purposes whilst the rest are either fattened or kept within the breeding flock at home.
Bedwyr Jones is a sheep man through and through. He was brought up on the family farm in Cerrigellgwm Isaf, Ysbyty Ifan, near Betws y Coed, where he and his brothers were given an excellent grounding in farming by their father Hywel Jones.
Bedwyr set up a successful sheep contracting business at a very young age, and later helped the BWMB with their wool press project which looked into the haulage costs of transporting wool around the country.
For the last seven years Bedwyr has represented Caernarfonshire on the BWMB and has been chairman of the Welsh regional committee for just under two years.
He is also chairman of the Prenteg branch of the FUW and is vice chairman of the union's central upland and marginal land committee. He has also been chairman of Beddgelert School's board of governors.
Welcoming the election result, FUW president Gareth Vaughan said: "I am well aware that Bedwyr is keen to represent North Wales on the BWMB's central committee, and will work towards ensuring that the establishment works efficiently to the benefit of all wool producers in obtaining the best price possible.
"He will also concentrate his efforts on ensuring effective collection of all wool produced in North Wales in an attempt to lower the costs of the BWMB to a minimum."