Wales Farmer JANUARY 2014


Farming’s hidden heroines rewarded


THE unsung heroines of Welsh farming have been honoured with apresti-


gious award. This


Cymru/Principality


year’sNFU Building


Society Wales woman farmer of the year awardwas presented at the RoyalWelsh Winter Fair. NFUCymru deputy president,


Stephen James said: “It wasvery difficult to choose awinner for this year’saward as the shortlist- ed finalists were of avery high standard. But they all have one thing in common -complete commitment to their ownfarms and to the industry as awhole.” PatAshman, sponsorship and


events manager forPrincipality Building Society,added: “When choosing the winner,the panel of judges looked at anumber of dif- ferent criteria including their part in making the farmasuccessful economic unit and their contri- bution to improving the role of


women in farming.” The winner is Cheryl Thomas, Gelli Gatrog


of Farm,


Pontantwn, Kidwelly, whoruns a pedigree Holstein herd of 150 cows with herhusband Elwyn. Cheryl is in charge of theheifer rearing whereall heifer calves born on the farmare reared for futurereplacements or sold as surplus.Cheryl is also involved with milking twice dailyand she is responsible forrearing around 25 bulls every year which aresold to other breeders as stock bulls. Cheryl supports the activities of the YFC in the area, as well as events organised by the local school and is amember of the local parish church. Locallyshe is best known forher fundraising efforts,she’srecentlyorganised a calendar,which has already raised approximately£19,000 for the breast cancer unit at Llanelli’s Prince Philip hospital. Cheryl said: “I believe thatasa mother Ihavebeen agood role


GIRL POWER: Stephen James, deputy president, NFU Cymru; Mandy Colbourne, runner-up; Cheryl Thomas, Wales Woman farmer of the year; Helen Bennett, runner-up; Graeme Yorston, Principality Building Society.


model to my daughter whohas shown akeen interest in farming from an early age. Iamalways prepared to sharemyexperiences in the industry with young peo- ple.”


Awardare MandyColbourne,of Glyn


Carmarthenshireand Helen Bennett,


The runners up forthis year’s Elwyn, Whitland, of Upper Hall,


Welshpool, Powys. Mandyisresponsible forall


the livestock activities including breeding, rearing and finishing. She has rare breed pigs,avariety of different breeds of sheep including Ryelands,Dartmoor and Zwartble.She rears poultry and keeps asmall herdofpedi- gree Anglo Nubian goats.Inher application she states “By having awoman as the main farmer here at Glyn Elwyn and being the first point of contact forcustomers helps other women to realise


Welsh students expressstrong views on future of agriculture


THERE were strong views expressed about the futureoffarming when twostudents went head-to-head in the final interviews forthe top awards in the Farmers’ Union of Wales higher education bursary scheme. Nineteen-year-old Kathryn Morris,of


The Belan, Berriew, near Welshpool, and James Price,ofAckhill Farm,Presteigne, whoare both in their first year studying agricultureatAberystwyth University,were shortlisted forinterviewbyapanel of judges during the RoyalWelsh Winter Fair. Both live on beef and sheep farms and submitted 1,000-wordessays with their entry forms. Kathryn chose the topic: “Are we anation of parkkeepers or food pro- ducers?” while James opted for“Should farmers be food producers or fuel produc- ers?”


FUW agricultural education and train-


ing committee chairman Alun Edwards complimented both finalists on their thought-provoking entries and said the judges were looking forwardtofollowing their respective futurecareers in agriculture. “Both our finalists have shown thereis potentiallyagood career in farming and it’s greattosee they’re also interested in their local communities and giving something back,”headded. James waschosen as the winner of the £1,000 bursary by the judges’


panel and Kathryn wasawarded £500 as the runner-up. James spends as much time as he can working on his home farmand


forother local farmers.Representing Presteigne YFC,hehas wonthe county federation’s junior stockman of the year competition and has been the club’streasurer. His essayexplained that, with climate change at the top of the agen-


da forgovernments across the world, bio fuels arebecoming an increas- inglypopular source of energy,often replacing food crops or using products previouslyused forfood. Kathryn has been akeen farmer from an early age. Beforestarting her


agricultureand countryside management course at Aberystwyth she took agap year to gain practical experience of taking responsibility and making management decisions on the familyfarm. She also runs asmall flock of pedigree Texelewesand is an active


member of BerriewYFC. In her essayshe urged the agricultureindustry to see itself as both


parkkeepers and food producer. During the Winter Fair the union launched its further education bur-


sary scheme,which will also have a£1,000 awardfor the winner and £500 forthe runner-up. Application formscan be obtained from FUW Head Office at Llys Amaeth, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth SY23 3BT,orring 01970 820820, or from anyofthe union’s county offices.


STRONG DEBATE: James Price and Kathryn Morris had achance to air their views on the future of farming in their interviews for the FUW student bursary, which was awarded to James.


what is possible forthem to do themselves.” Helen is the backbone of the


business,she completes the dayto daypaperworkand is responsible forthe staffing rota. Alongside her husband, Helen has playeda leading role in establishing aunit thatnot onlyisabletosustain all members of the familybut also a number of full time employees. Helen is afirmbelieverinensur- ing the farm’sincome is obtained


from anumber of enterprises, thesebeing organicLleyn sheep, organic milk, beef and egg pro- duction. She is amentor forthe Young Entrants Support Scheme (YESS) as well as akeen support- er of the local YFC.She is also a member of the ‘MerchedyMaes’ Farming Connect group. The winner received£500 and


an engraved Welsh crystal fruit bowl, while the runners-up received£100 each.


WINTER FAIR 19


LEADING LAUNCH: Dr Barrie Kennard, director, Leadership and Management Wales and Kevin Thomas, director of Lantra.


On course to help train new leaders


THE judges of aprestigious bursary were so impressed by the young candidates thatthey brokewith tradition and chose twowin- ners instead of one. The RoyalWelsh Agricultural Society offers abursary to young


people in Wales to attend the OxfordFarming Conference each year. In their report, the judges said: “Sevencandidates came forward


forselection and all were worthyofgoing to Oxford. Our final selec- tion wasvery difficult and our decision wasthattwo of them should receive the bursary this time. “Wewerevery impressedwith the vision all had fortheir careers


and the futureoftheir businesses.They also had clear views forthe futuredirection of Welsh agricultureand the countryside and their enthusiasm and drive were very apparent.” The winners were Meinir Jones,ofCapel Isaac, Llandeilo,


Carmarthenshire, and Llion Davies,ofBeulah, Castell Newydd Emlyn, Ceredigion. They will be invited to write an article forthe 2014 RoyalWelsh Journal and receivedtheir awards at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair. The OxfordConference brings together farmers,politicians and scientists to discuss the futuredevelopment of the agricultural industry.The 2014 conference speakers will include Dacian Ciolos0, the European Commissioner forAgricultureand Rural Development.


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


ANEW programme aimed at helping businesses invest in accredited leadership and man- agement training waslaunched at the Winter Fair. Lantra’sLeadership and


Management forAgriculture and


Land-based Sector


Programme has been supported through the Sector Leadership Fund, which is part of the Enhanced Leadership and Management Programme sup- ported by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government. Kevin Thomas,director of


Lantra, said: “With over 18,000 agricultural and land-based busi- nesses employing approximately 85,000 people in Wales,this sec- tor needs to invest in leadership and management skills in order to drive growth and become morecompetitive in the market place.”


Guest speaker at the launch,


Dr Barrie Kennard, from Leadership and Management Wales,added: “This sector in particular offers


significant


opportunities foremployment in Wales and it is vitallyimportant thatthe leadership and manage- ment skills of those working in it aresupported and developed. The programme itself illustrates thatLantrarecognise howvitally important higher-levelleader- ship and management skills are to the futuresuccess of the busi- nesses in their sector and are addressing the skills require- ments needed to drive businesses forward.” The leadership and manage-


ment training programme will offer courses funded by up to 70% all over Wales.For more information contact Lantraon 01982


552646 wales@lantra.co.uk. or


email


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