NEW FACE ON FUW POWERHOUSE

Meirionnydd farmer Richard Vaughan is a new face on the Farmers' Union of Wales' powerful central finance and organisation committee.

Mr Vaughan, aged 46, takes over as the committee's North Wales special member from S4C TV's Ffermio presenter Alun (Elidyr) Edwards who stepped down due to his broadcasting commitments but remains chairman of the union's agricultural education and training committee.

Mr Vaughan, of Pall Mall, Tywyn, was elected during the union's annual general meeting in Aberystwyth on Monday June 14.

He has already been chairman of the union's central land use and parliamentary committee since 2006.

He was FUW Merioneth's county chairman between 2007-2009 and has recently worked assiduously leading the union's representations on the Welsh Assembly Government's controversial Glastir land management scheme.

He is a member of the Meirionnydd Royal Welsh Agricultural Society's Advisory Committee and represents the county on the Membership Committee in Builth Wells. He also sits on the Council of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.

He is a former chairman of the Meirionnydd Grassland Society and also vice chairman of Tywyn Town Council as well as other associated committees.

Pall Mall Farm is situated on the A493 north of Tywyn. It is one of two holdings, totalling 550 acres, and is farmed by Mr Vaughan and his wife Dwynwen. Most of their land is at Pant y Panel and Prysglwyd at Rhydymain, near Dolgellau.

A flock of 750 Welsh Mountain Sheep is kept, together with 150 ewe lambs replacements. Around 200 ewes are crossed with Texel and Suffolk rams, and the remainder with Welsh Mountain. Approximately 60 store cattle are kept and fattened over the summer.

Mr Vaughan is well qualified to speak on the Glastir Scheme, since his farm was one of the first to join the Tir Cymen Scheme when Meirionnydd was chosen as a pilot area in the early 1990s. It benefited greatly from the scheme and the farm is now in its sixth year in the Tir Gofal Scheme.

As part of these schemes, capital works have been carried out, including stone walls, fencing, hedging, tree planting, wild life ponds and even an otter den.

Pall Mall Farm has been successfully diversified over the last 40 years. Outbuildings have been converted, two chalets built, and a caravan site established which, by today, has around 100 units.

Mr and Mrs Vaughan have also developed a successful business purchasing and renovating houses in Aberystwyth to be let out as flats and bed-sits. Mr Vaughan sees this as an important part of the business which brings in valuable extra income without taking him away too often from his farming activities.

Meanwhile, all the other six members of the finance and organisation committee - president Gareth Vaughan; deputy president Emyr Jones; vice presidents Glyn Roberts, Eifion Huws and Brian Walters; and South Wales special member Lorraine Howells - were re-elected.

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