A sum of £858 will be donated to the Farmers' Union of Wales president's charity, Cancer Research Wales, after the union’s Meirionnydd county branch held a fund-raising evening at Dolgellau Rugby Club last Saturday (February 16).

Over 120 people attended and entertainment was provided by Parti Cut Lloi of Dyffryn Banw in Montgomeryshire. The party, led by well known folk singer Sian James of Llanerfyl, contributed greatly to a hugely successful and enjoyable evening.

All arrangements, including the preparation of food for all who attended, were led by FUW Meirionnydd area officer Bethan Roberts.

[caption id="attachment_2317" align="aligncenter" width="300"] FUND RAISERS: From left, Sian James, members of Parti Cut Lloi with Bethan Roberts, FUW's president Emyr Jones, Meirionnydd county president Dafydd T Ellis and county executive officer Huw Jones.[/caption]

Following the recent mis-labelling of horsemeat revelations the Farmers' Union of Wales is beefing up its "Buy The Welsh One" campaign which urges shoppers to support their local butchers and food producers.

Next week the campaign will feature prominently during FUW-organised events at the heart of the UK and EU governments in Westminster and Brussels.

Welsh food and drink will be on the menu on Wednesday (February 27) at a Ceredigion Day event in the Commons, hosted by Ceredigion MP Mark Williams, and MEPs will attend a Welsh farmhouse breakfast, sponsored by Wales MEP Jill Evans, at the EU Parliament building the following day (February 28).

FUW president Emyr Jones said: "Since the campaign was launched at the 2007 Royal Welsh Show the union has consistently stressed that when consumers buy beef or lamb labelled as Welsh and accompanied by the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo they can be confident it will be genuine.

"With a growing number of farm-produced quality products available at farmers' markets, corner shops, on the internet and some supermarkets throughout Wales, the FUW’s advice is to look for the Welsh Beef and Welsh Lamb logos.

"The FUW was set up over 50 years ago to represent the interests of Welsh farming families and the fight for fair returns for farm produce still remains one of its core concerns.

"So from next Monday (February 25) the FUW will also be backing Fairtrade Fortnight which calls on the British public to look after the food we love and the people who grow it.

"Companies and governments must ensure small farmers can achieve sustainable livelihoods and play a full role in building fairer, better food systems for the future.

"To show your support for the 'Buy The Welsh One' campaign pop into any of the FUW's 11 county offices throughout Wales and pick up a free 'I Love Welsh Food' reusable shopping bag, while stocks last."

Mark Williams said: "We have such a fantastic farming and meat industry in Ceredigion and in Wales, and consumers can have confidence when buying local meat from local butchers.

"I think a clear and reliable food labelling system would be a good step in restoring confidence for consumers and this should be a priority in the wake of the horsemeat scandal."

Welcoming the "Buy the Welsh one" campaign revamp, Jill Evans said: "The latest scandal has shown that we need nothing less than a food revolution. This means re-connecting consumers and producers as well as more awareness of exactly how and where our food is produced.

"We can achieve this by buying local produce. That will mean reducing the distance food is transported, enabling better control and better standards.

"Consumers are overwhelmingly demanding better labelling so they can buy local. This is a golden opportunity to promote policies that benefit farmers, local companies, consumers and the environment."

[caption id="attachment_2314" align="aligncenter" width="160"] ‘Buy The Welsh One’ and support local butchers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2310" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Talybont cottage: From left, FUW Meirionnydd county executive officer Huw Jones, Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Elfyn Llwyd, FUW president Emyr Jones and farmer Geraint Edwards outside Talybont cottage.[/caption]

A Meirionnydd farmer has gone the extra mile to ensure he is financially prepared to deal with a possible cut in his single farm payment following CAP reform and the loss of income after his Tir Gofal scheme comes to an end.

Farmers’ Union of Wales member Geraint Edwards, 41, who farms 600 acres of severely disadvantaged land at Drws Nant, Llanuwchllyn, has renovated two farm holiday cottages to an exceptional standard in order to boost the farm’s income.

The farm, which carries 360 ewes and eight suckler cows, has been under the Tir Gofal agreement which comes to a close by the end of the year.  The farm entered the pilot Tir Cymen scheme 1992 and afterwards entered the Tir Gofal scheme.

“With income from the Tir Gofal scheme ending by the end of this year and the uncertainties of the single farm payment under the CAP reform, we had to look around for other sources of income,” said Mr Edwards.

“As we are in such a beautiful area which is popular with tourists, we diversified by renovating two holiday cottages on the farm and are also looking to join the Glastir scheme.

“When we bought Talybont back in 2001 it had been uninhabited for 25 years so there was quite a lot of work to be done. We used local craftsmen and sourced material locally where we could and it now sleeps four to six people comfortably.

“Ty Mawr, which sleeps four to five people, was purchased in 2012. The previous owner of the cottage had carried out a great deal of the work and I felt that there were obvious advantages in completing the property.

“We look forward to what promises to be an exciting new business venture for us,” added Mr Edwards.

Both cottages are let through Dioni.co.uk, a website for self-catering Snowdonia Holiday Cottages run by Gwion Llwyd of Byrdir, Dyfryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd.

FUW president Emyr Jones, who officially opened the two cottages, said: “Geraint is an example of a young farmer who is absolutely determined to work hard to maximise the farm income and we wish him the best of luck in his new business venture.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Elfyn Llwyd, who attended the opening, said: “Geraint needs to be warmly congratulated on completing these two cottages to such an outstandingly high standard.”

Due to a clash with a Welsh Assembly CAP meeting the joint annual general meeting of the Farmers' Union of Wales' Builth Wells, Llanwrtyd Wells, Penybont and Rhayader sub-branches - scheduled for Thursday February 28 - has been changed to Thursday March 7 at the FUW Pavilion, RWAS Showground, Builth Wells, at 7.30pm.

The guest speakers will still be entrepreneurs Richard and Jim George who spurned a £160,000 deal on the Dragons’ Den TV series and have seen sales of their anti-rot fencing post sleeves soar by 75%.

The brothers, from Malvern, Worcestershire, stunned the panel of multi-millionaires on the hit BBC 2 programme when they declined four offers for a stake in their Gloucestershire-based business.