The president and deputy president of Welsh farming union NFU Cymru have been re-elected to lead the union for another two years.
President Aled Jones and deputy president Abi Reader were re-elected at a meeting of the union’s council in Cardiff.
The meeting also saw the union elect its wider officeholder team.
The NFU Cymru National Board chairs are:
- Livestock board: Rob Lewis (Brecon and Radnor);
- Dairy board: Jonathan Wilkinson (Montgomeryshire);
- LFA board: Kath Whitrow (Brecon and Radnor);
- Rural Affairs board: Hedd Pugh (Meirionydd).
NFU Cymru National Working Group chairs are:
- Poultry: Richard Williams (Monmouthshire);
- Organics: Haydn Evans (Carmarthenshire);
- Tenants: Elwyn Evans (Anglesey);
- Combinable crops: Tom Rees (Pembrokeshire);
- TB focus group: Roger Lewis (Pembrokeshire).
The elected Legal Assistance Scheme (LAS) Board Representative is Hedd Pugh of Meirionydd.
NFU Cymru director John Mercer said: “We are incredibly lucky to have such a strong national officeholder team working alongside our county officeholder teams and our professional NFU Cymru team of staff, all working together for the benefit of members and Welsh agriculture.
“With significant policy change on the horizon, volatile markets and global political uncertainty – never mind the day-to-day issues that are affecting our members at the farm gate – it’s never been more important to have a strong team representing and protecting the interests of Welsh farmers.
“Many congratulations to all those who have been elected and we look forward to working closely together in the coming two years on behalf of Welsh agriculture.”
President and deputy
NFU Cymru president Aled Jones is an eighth-generation farmer who runs a pedigree herd of Holsteins with his with his son in Caernarfon.
He has previously held a variety of positions across the industry, including holding the post of chair of milk recording company Cattle Information Services (CIS) for seven years and being a trustee of Holstein UK for eight years.
NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader is a third generation mixed farmer, farming in partnership with her parents and uncle in Wenvoe, outside Cardiff.
The farm is home to milking cows, sheep, beef cattle and around 120ac of arable.
Reader is a co-founder of Cows on Tour, an Open Farm Sunday host and a former NFU Cymru Wales Woman Farmer of the Year.
In 2019 she was honoured by the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with an MBE for her services to agriculture.
