A warm welcome awaits members and visitors to the Farmers’ Union of Wales stand at the Meirionnydd County Show which will be held near Bala on Wednesday August 27.

“The show this year is the responsibility of the Edeyrnion (Corwen) areas and the county branch is once again extremely grateful to the ladies section from the Penllyn and Edeyrnion areas who take responsibility for the refreshments,” said FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones.

The new deputy minister for agriculture and fisheries Rebecca Evans will be attending the show, and will be calling at the FUW marquee for a general discussion on current topics with union leaders and staff.

Meirionnydd Dwyfor MP Elfyn Llwyd,  Meirionnydd Dwyfor AM Dafydd Elis Thomas and prospective parliamentary candidate Liz Saville Roberts will also be calling during the day for general discussions.

“FWAG director for Wales Glenda Thomas, will be at the stand between 11.00am and 12.00pm so that members visiting the stand can get information on the latest developments on Glastir agreements or any general issues in respect of agri environment work on farms.  Dr Thomas is able to assist on general record keeping in respect of Glastir Scheme particularly the stocking and activity diaries relating to the scheme,” added Mr Jones.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick will be joining the FUW again this year to meet farmers and people from rural areas to discuss the force’s new crime plan.  He will be accompanied by Dewi Evans, one of the Rural Crime Officers recently appointed for Gwynedd and Anglesey.  It will be an opportunity for farmers to put forward their views to the commissioner and to hear from him the latest efforts to combat crime.

Eifion Bibby from Davis Meade Property Consultants will be on the FUW stand between 1.30pm and 4.00pm to discuss any issues relating to land lettings which union members wish to raise.  He will also have information on the New Basic Payment Scheme which is to be introduced from 2015 to replace the Single Payment Scheme.

FUW staff will be inviting sponsorship for the Union’s Wales Coastal Path Challenge which is to be held on September 14 in aid of T? Hafan and T? Gobaith children’s hospices.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is seeking nominations for this year’s FUW-HSBC Outstanding Service to the Welsh Dairy Industry award.

The winner will be announced, and the presentation made, at this year’s Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen on Tuesday, October 14.

Past winners have included former FUW Carmarthenshire county president Ogwyn Evans (in 2008), Carmarthenshire farmer Bryan Thomas - a past member of the Holstein Friesian Society council and founder member of the Welsh Dairy Show (2009) - Flintshire dairy farmer Terrig Morgan - who established a successful discussion group "The Udder Group" in Flintshire for younger milk producers now run by DairyCo (2010) - DairyCo chairman Tim Bennett (2011), former FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Eifion Huws from Anglesey (2012), and NFU England and Wales dairy board chairman Mansel Raymond, (2013).

FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer David Waters said: “There are a number of other very worthy individuals in Wales who also deserve this award. Nominations should be in the form of a letter or citation giving full details of the work and achievements of the nominee. We have in the past had some very worthy nominations and winners and we look forward to receiving this year’s nominations.”

Nominations need to be sent to the FUW Carmarthenshire county office, 13a Barn Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1DD by the Wednesday October 1 closing date.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is seeking nominations for this year’s United Counties Agriculture and Hunters Society Award for the person judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to agriculture in Carmarthenshire during the past few years.

The judges will include representatives from the FUW, HSBC Bank plc and the United Counties Agricultural and Hunters Society.

FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer David Waters said: “The nomination should be in the form of a letter or citation giving full details of the work and achievement of the nominee with great emphasis on the positive or beneficial effect on agriculture in Carmarthenshire.”

The award will be presented at the annual Welsh Dairy Show Dinner.

The closing date for nominations is Wednesday October 1.

For further information contact David Waters at 13a Barn Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1DD or by telephone on 01267 237974.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales Glamorgan and Gwent branches are organising a wooden horse race night for union president Emyr Jones' charity fund for children’s hospices T? Hafan and T? Gobaith on Saturday August 30, starting at 7pm.

The event, at FUW member Lorraine Howells' Cwm Carno Farm, near Rhymney, will feature races where six wooden horses are auctioned off before the start of each race with the winners proceeding to a grand final.

“This is the second time we are hosting this event and following its past success in 2012, when we raised over £4,000 for cancer charities, we hope to raise some vital funds for these two great charities,” said FUW Glamorganshire county executive officer Rachel Saunders.

“All the races will be sponsored by local businesses and tickets include a cold meat supper meal.

“We hope to build on the generosity of local members and businesses by raising even more for charity this year and we hope the word has spread about how much everyone who attended in 2012 enjoyed themselves and even more people will come this year.

“Tickets are on sale now for £10 and will be available on the FUW stand at the Vale of Glamorgan and Bedwellty Shows or from the union's county offices in Cowbridge and Abergavenny.

“If any local business wishes to sponsor a race, there is still some availability left and more information can be obtained from the county office,” added Mrs Saunders.

The Farmers' Union of Wales stand at this month's Pembrokeshire County Show (August 19-21) will provide showgoers the opportunity to discuss issues of concern with local politicians including Stephen Crabb MP, Simon Hart MP and Paul Davies AM on the Tuesday morning of the show.

"We are once again looking forward to welcoming members and friends of the union to the stand to have a chat and offer advice either through fellow industry organisations or union staff," said FUW Pembrokeshire county executive officer Rebecca Voyle.

"We will have displays about the CAP reforms and other general information so people are welcome to call in to discuss how the changes may affect them.

"Natural Resources Wales staff will be with us every day between 10am and 2pm to provide general advice and information on local nutrient management initiatives and Glastir officers will also be on hand every day between 10am and 3pm to answer questions about the Glastir scheme.

"They will also be able to help farmers complete the Glastir scorecard to establish what the scheme will mean for their farm."

Colin Davies, of RCD Finance Ltd, will be at the stand on the Tuesday to discuss farm machinery, buildings, dairy cow and renewables finance with members and Philip Meade, of the union's land agents Davis Meade Property Consultants, will be on the stand on the Wednesday to provide advice on a variety of issues ranging from rent reviews to compensation claims and renewable energy contracts.

There will be a chance for visitors to win £50 in Marks and Spencer's vouchers in a prize draw from FUW Insurance Services Ltd.

"We are also looking forward to having staff from E-ON with us on all three days to discuss farmers' energy requirements and provide free no-obligation quotes while RABI will be joining us on the Wednesday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm to offer Christmas cards and 2015 calendars for sale with all the proceeds going to the charity," added Mrs Voyle.

FUW staff will also be looking to sign up walkers and sponsorship for the union's Wales Coast Path Challenge in September in aid of T? Hafan and T? Gobaith Children's Hospices.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales Ceredigion branch today (Wednesday July 30) presented the union's Apêl FUW Somerset cheque of  £1,755 to the Addington Fund at Cardigan Show as fundraising efforts come to a close.

“The Addington Fund charity was instrumental in providing emergency assistance for farmers in Somerset and we would like to thank everyone for their kind donations of fodder or cash,” said FUW Ceredigion county chairman Aled Rees.

The FUW Ceredigion branch also hosted a strawberries and cream reception on their stand at Cardigan Show to thank supporters of Apêl FUW Somerset for all their help.

Through their fundraising efforts to help flood-affected Somerset farmers, Ceredigion farmers also secured over 20 articulated lorry loads of food for livestock over recent months.

Attending the cheque presentation were Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, economy, science and transport minister Edwina Hart and agriculture and fisheries deputy minister Rebecca Evans.

“I am very pleased that so many were able to join us for the occasion to thank all those business and hauliers for the heartfelt generosity over recent months,” added Mr Rees.

Elin Jones said: “I was delighted to attend the FUW event at Cardigan Show to thank the local farmers who gave so generously to help out those in Somerset who were suffering after the severe floods.

“The work Aled Rees, and the other organisers, was extremely valuable in making sure that animals didn’t suffer for lack of food during the spring.

“The great generosity of farmers and hauliers in Ceredigion really made a difference in helping Somerset farmers to get back on their feet.”

[caption id="attachment_3021" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] from left: FUW Ceredigion county executive officer Caryl Wyn-Jones, Ceredigion AM Elin Jones, FUW farm tourism and diversification committee delegate Ionwen Lewis, FUW Ceredigion county chairman Aled Rees, economy, science and transport minister Edwina Hart and agriculture and fisheries deputy minister Rebecca Evans[/caption]