Visitors to Pentre Farm, Cwmtirmynach received a warm welcome on Monday September 29, when they met with Farmers’ Union of Wales members Arfon and Rhian Williams, Llyr Huws Gruffudd AM and FWAG Cymru.

The visit, arranged by the FUW Meirionnydd branch and FWAG Cymru, provided members with the an opportunity to see the land,stock, and various elements of the Glastir scheme and for visitors to talk about the latest agricultural policies.

Pentre is situated at approximately six miles north east of Bala and the family farm extends to 250 hectares on the Rhiwlas Estate.  145 hectares is mountain land and around 20 hectares are kept annually for silage making.

The family keep high quality stock, which includes 450 ewes, 300 of which are Welsh Mountain and 150 being Cheviot X and Halfbreds.  Arfon and Rhian use Beltex and Texel rams, and for the first time in 2014 a Berrichon du cher ram was used.  They also keep a herd of 25 Welsh Black Pedigree Cattle, with Arfon Williams being a member of the Welsh Black Cattle Society.

“They have a great deal of interest in breeding Llanwenog sheep and the family have enjoyed  exhibiting in shows, and attend breed sales at Llanybydder. The family has won many prizes over the years which includes the breed championship at the Royal Welsh Show,” said FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones.

Pentre has been able to take advantage of agri-environment schemes over the years, and the family see farming and conservation going hand in hand.  The farm was part of the Tir Cymen Scheme when Meirionnydd was chosen as a pilot area in the 1990’s, and thereafter the farm was part of the Tir Gofal Scheme until joining Glastir in 2014.

The farm has also been fortunate in being chosen for the Glastir Advanced Scheme which has run hand in hand with Glastir entry since January 2014.

Arfon Williams and his family have held the tenancy at Pentre since 2001. He is married to Rhian, and they have 3 children; Lleucu 15, Deio 14, and Owen Clwyd 2. Deio has already shown an interest in coming home to farm at Pentre.

The Cwmtirmynach area is a stronghold of the Welsh language and culture, and Arfon Williams is a  prominent figure in ‘cerdd dant’ singing, and has been a judge at national level on many occasions.

He also contributes extensively to community activities within his area, and has been chairman of the local village hall at Cwmtirmynach.

“I would like to thank Arfon and his family for hosting this visit today. We have found it most informative to see the how they run their enterprise, I would like to thank Birch Farm Plastics for sponsoring the light refreshments,” added Mr Jones.

[caption id="attachment_3086" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Llyr Huws Gruffudd addressing the audience.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3087" align="aligncenter" width="640"] From left, FUW Merioneth county executive officer Huw Jones, North Wales FWAG committee chairman Richard Tomlinson, Llyr Huws Gruffudd AM, FUW policy director Nick Fenwick, FUW president Emyr Jones, Merioneth FUW president Robert Evans, FWAG Cymru Director Glenda Thomas, Merioneth vice-chairman Euros Puw and Arfon Williams who hosted the event.[/caption]

Primary school pupils from all over Wales are once again being invited to enter a Christmas card design competition organised by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The competition, which was launched by the union at the Cardiff Country Fair on Saturday September 27, is asking children aged from four to 11 to design a Christmas scene depicting a farming theme for its Christmas cards which will be sold to raise money for the FUW’s chosen charities - Cardiff-based T? Hafan and Hope House Children's Hospices of Oswestry which includes T? Gobaith at Conwy.

FUW president Emyr Jones said: “The competition will be split into Welsh language and English language categories. Children can use any media in their entries, such as crayons, coloured pencils, felt tipped pens or paint which must be completed on an A4 sheet of paper.

“The only stipulation is that it must be a Christmas card with a farming theme. The competition was a huge success last year and we hope we can once again count on the support of our primary schools all over Wales.”

The winner of each category will receive a £30 gift voucher for themselves, a packet of the Christmas cards depicting their design, one day’s free admittance to the 2014 Royal Welsh Winter Fair to receive their prizes and a £50 cheque for their school.

The winning entries, together with a selection of other entries, will be displayed at the FUW stand during the Winter Fair (December 1-2).

The closing date for entries is Friday October 24.

The pupil’s name, age, class number, school name and home address must be included on all entries which should be posted or delivered to the FUW, Llys Amaeth, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3BT, marked “Schools Competition”, or e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Members of the FUW hill farming and marginal land and livestock, wool and marts committees visited the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, to see the latest developments on genomic and phenomic research there.

Delegates learned how this new state-of-the-art £6.8 million facility helps to further enhance delivery of improved forage and cereal varieties to the industry. The data analysis undertaken at the phenomics centre speeds up the plant breeding process, ensuring that crop varieties meeting the latest requirements of agriculture are available to growers that much sooner.

The genomic meat traceability project was also outlined, showing how DNA analysis helps to pinpoint where meat on supermarket shelves has come from.  Mapping the DNA of different animal breeds not only helps with meat traceability, and therefore consumer confidence, but can also be used to speed up livestock breeding programmes for particular traits that are of value to the farmer and consumer.

“We enjoyed a very informative visit at IBERS and were  impressed with the latest developments in genomic and phenomic research,” said newly-elected FUW hill farming and marginal land committee chairman Ian Rickman.

“Since the horsemeat scandal it has become of greater importance for us to trace our meat back to the source and supermarkets are increasingly aware of the fact that they need to be able to verify the carcasses in their meat supply chain.”

[caption id="attachment_3078" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Dr Matt Hegarty (third from right) and Alan Gay (fifth from left) from IBERS with FUW committee delegates[/caption]

Farmers’ Union of Wales members and friends tackled the Wales Coast Path during a huge sponsored walk to raise funds for children’s hospice charities T? Hafan and T? Gobaith.

The challenging event took place on Saturday and Sunday September 13 and 14 when teams of union members, staff and friends embarked on various walks along the whole length of the Wales Coast Path to boost funds for both charities for FUW president Emyr Jones’ 2014 charity appeal.

Mr Jones said: “The idea of covering every section of the Wales Coast Path was a huge challenge and I must thank the volunteers who helped us cover the miles on foot and offered support to our walkers. I had no doubt that, with the enthusiasm and support of union staff, members and friends, it could be achieved.

“Around 90 teams were involved over the weekend and we managed to raise around £5,000, with money still coming in. The pictures sent in from all the counties are truly wonderful and a selection can be viewed on the FUW Facebook page.”

Members, family and friends of FUW’s Denbighshire and Flintshire branches enjoyed a glorious day whilst undertaking their coastal path section on Saturday September 13.

Over 50 walkers tackled the 60-odd miles between Chester and Conwy in sections up to nine miles and enjoyed some interesting and varied views along the Dee Estuary and North Wales coast.

FUW Denbighshire and Flintshire county executive officer Rhys Roberts said: “Following the day’s walking we held a social evening at Denbigh Rugby Club where members and friends gathered to enjoy a superb hog roast prepared by Denbigh butcher Glyn Davies accompanied by salads and puddings donated by the ladies committees of both counties.

“After the food, guests were royally entertained by comedian Dilwyn Pierce and Cor Meibion Bro Aled, whose members also walked in aid of the charities and raised £1,230 for the cause. 

“The walk and the evening were an outstanding success and I thank all those that participated in the two events for their time and commitment to raising funds for this most worthy of causes, and especially the choir and Dilwyn for the evening’s entertainment.

“In total, once all the sponsorship money has been collected, I hope the day will have raised in the region of £3,000,” added Mr Roberts.

After the walk in Montgomeryshire, FUW county chairman Mark Williams said: “An early rise on Sunday morning September 14 saw the fish jumping at Dyfi Bridge and FUW Montgomeryshire members and staff along with family and friends as they set out across Dyfi Bridge in Machynlleth to walk the Coast Path to Clarach Bay.

“The route covered a distance of over 20 miles and the 10 more experienced walkers of our team undertook the whole route while six started at Tre’r Ddol and completed the 10-mile walk into Clarach.

“I joined the walk at Tre’r Ddol and we had a beautiful day with spectacular views and a challenging terrain. I would like to congratulate Ellen Fowles and Ceris Jones, both eight years old, on completing the 10-mile trip with me.

“I would also like to thank Bryan Jones for his support in providing the recovery service for those who failed to make the final stretch from Borth to Clarach.”

First to complete the challenge in Montgomeryshire was Sue Pope, of Llangurig, with 11 participants completing their routes.

FUW Montgomeryshire county executive officer Susan Jones said: “It was great to have area officer David Lush and his wife Dawn on board for this challenge and area officer Nia Wyn Evans completed the route, stating that it was harder than walking up Cadar Idris.

“I would also like to thank everyone for their sponsorship and support. We were also very grateful to Glan y Môr Leisure Park at Clarach for allowing us to put up our support tent so that refreshments and drinks were available when the walkers came in.”

Farmers’ Union of Wales members have met with the manager of Menai Meats Wales Ltd, which has taken over the former Sher Foods abattoir in Caernarfon.

The well attended meeting between Muhammad Ali of Menai Meats Wales Ltd and the Caernarfon county executive committee took place on Monday September 8.

Speaking after the meeting, FUW Caernarfonshire chairman Dafydd Gwyndaf, who farms at Llechwedd Hafod Isaf, near Betws y Coed, said: “The abattoir at Caernarfon has had numerous problems over the years which have affected farm businesses, so there were naturally many questions members wanted to ask the new management.”

Mr Ali told those present that the company hopes to start taking lambs later this month and to build up to around 8,000 lambs a week once the go-ahead has been received from the FSA. The hope is that cattle will start being taken six to eight weeks later, building up to around 300 a week.

Mr Gwyndaf added: “The closure of Welsh Country Foods at Gaerwen left a massive dent in regional slaughtering capacity in North Wales, so we obviously hope that this business gets up off the ground and helps to fill that gap, and does not experience the sort of problems we have previously seen.”

The Farmers' Union of Wales will welcome visitors to the Cardiff Country Fair at the end of the month with a taste of rural life and food production in a bid to bring the countryside closer to those who live in towns and cities.

Taking place on Saturday and Sunday (September 27-28) at Cardiff Castle, the country fair showcases the essence of rural Wales and celebrates the best of farming, food and the countryside from across the UK.

The FUW will distribute free cotton bags to highlight the international year of the family farm at the union's mobile display unit during the event and will be offering a number of activities for children and are joined by staff from FUW Insurance Ltd, Keep Wales Tidy, and Ty Hafan children’s hospice.

As a member of the Wales pollinator taskforce, on Sunday September 28, the FUW will be promoting the importance of pollinators, with activities for children, a ‘virtual’ hive, and information about honey bees and beekeeping for both adults and youngsters.

Visitors to the Cardiff Country Fair, which is supported by Brace’s Bread and Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), will find an array of livestock and farm animals along the Castle Mews including cows, sheep, goats and pigs. While younger visitors can get up close to rabbits and guinea pigs in the Cwtch Corner inside Cardiff Castle.

The packed program also features other animal attractions such as the Quack Pack, birds of prey, Falconry displays, Lurchers, chicks and ducklings not to mention ferret racing.

Other show highlights include livestock displays of sheep, cattle, goats and pigs. A wealth of demonstrations and master classes are on offer, designed to educate and inspire visitors to keep bees, chickens or even birth a lamb.

The Fair once again features traditional countryside games such as Tug of War and Cheese Skittles, along with the not so traditional sports of giant jenga and welly wanging.

FUW president Emyr Jones said: "Cardiff Country Fair is an exciting event which promotes a closer understanding between food producers and consumers. It combines a great day out with learning more about the countryside, food and its producers. We attended the inaugural event last year and are very much looking forward to being there again this year.

"Our attendance at an event like the Cardiff Country Fair is important in helping to inform people living in urban areas how important it is for them to support our efforts to sustain the rural way of life and all the benefits that go with that."

Tickets for the Cardiff Country Fair are on sale now and can be purchased online or by calling 02920 230130. For more information, visit www.cardiffcountryfair.com