[caption id="attachment_5884" align="aligncenter" width="300"] (l-r) Welsh Dairy Show committee chairman Lynn Davies, HSBC agriculture relationship manager Sarah Raymond, Revd Canon Eileen Davies, FUW deputy president Brian Thomas and Welsh Dairy Show president Brian Jones.[/caption]

The Reverend Canon Eileen Davies, BTh, ARAgS has been recognised for her services to agriculture with the Farmers’ Union of Wales/United Counties Agricultural & Hunters Society award.
The award is presented to the person judged to have made the most outstanding contribution to agriculture in Carmarthenshire during the past few years.

Eileen was born at Aberdauddwr, Llanllwni, a family farm and after getting married to Dyfrig Davies in 1990 became a partner in the family farm at Gwndwn, Llanllwni where she continues to farm with her husband and son, Owain.

It is a 300 acre mixed farm where they milk 75 pedigree Holstein cows under the prefix ‘Llanllwni’ and they also keep 200 commercial breeding ewes.

In 2013, Canon Eileen Davies was honoured by the Royal Welsh Society by being presented with the Associate of the Royal Agricultural Society for her work supporting people working in agriculture who are in need.

FUW deputy president Brian Thomas, who presented Canon Davies with the award, said: “The judges were delighted by the high calibre of candidates presented to them this year but the Rev Canon Eileen Davies stood out for her work in assisting farmers and rural communities in their hour of need.

“We can only be grateful for people like Eileen Davies and it is therefore an honour to present her with this award.”

She is a past, faithful and successful member of Carmarthenshire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs and attended Llanllwni YFC where she was club chairman between 1984 and 1985.
Also she served as club secretary and club treasurer and later became a dedicated club leader and more recently was president of the club.

During her time as a member of the YFC, Eileen gained great success at county, Wales and national level of England and Wales arranging flowers, poultry trussing and jointing, stock judging, public speaking, drama and half an hour’s entertainment competitions.

In 1985, she became a county attendant and in 1989 served as an exceptional county queen.

The following year due to her commitment, Eileen was nominated as county chairman and gained great respect during her year in office.

In 2001, although already busy, Eileen decided to become a part time priest and after studying for three years was ordained at St. David’s Cathedral in 2005.

Between 2004 and 2008 she served as a Curate at Lampeter and Llanddewi Brefi. In 2005 she was elected as the rural co-ordinator for the St. David’s diocese, a post she holds until the present day. In 2008, she gained the Bachelor of Theology degree and from then until the present has been a full time vicar at Llanerchaeron, Ciliauaeron, Dihewyd and Mydroilyn churches.

In 2012, Eileen became an honorary Canon at the diocese of St. David’s and 2014 became an official full time Canon at the diocese.

In 2015 in the name of the St. David’s diocese, Eileen Davies established “Tir Dewi”, an initiative which aims to provide a listening ear for local farmers facing modern day challenges and aims to provide them with support and guidance to help them through the difficult times.

Carmarthenshire YFC county organiser, Eirios Thomas, who nominated Canon Davies on behalf of the county, said: “Eileen has worked tirelessly for the agricultural and rural communities of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion for many years and has been a listening ear to many when they have been at their lowest.

“People feel they can turn to Eileen and discuss matters in total confidence due to her understanding of the agricultural and rural communities. The respect people have towards this lady is incredible.

“She is professional and yet approachable in her work and I have followed and supported her career throughout the years. She is truly worthy of being recognised for all her hard work in our agricultural and rural communities.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales is warning members and rural business not to respond to a scam letter issued by ‘UK Data Control’ asking for details of missing VAT numbers.  

The official Government looking letter asks for confirmation of VAT numbers and other business details. However the small print within the letter confirms that by signing and returning the form the signatory is agreeing to pay £790 annually for their details to be published on a website. 

FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “This letter has been made to look like official Government communication which could easily trick many farmers and rural business owners into providing their details. 

“The financial implication of providing the company with business details could be devastating. I urge farmers and rural business owners to remain vigilant against these scam letters.”  

Any farmer who is unsure as to the validity of a letter asking for financial or business details should contact their local trading standards office or contact the Citizens Advice consumer services on 03454 04 05 06 or a Welsh line on 03454 04 05 05.

[caption id="attachment_5878" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (L-R) FUW vice president Eifion Huws, FUW president Glyn Roberts, Glyn Owen, FUW Anglesey deputy milk committee delegate Robert Pritchard, Mel Jones RABI, FUW Anglesey president Tom Jones, FUW Anglesey vice chairman Peter Williams and Rhun ap Iorwerth AM.[/caption]

The Anglesey branch of the Farmers’ Union of Wales recently met local AM Rhun Ap Iorwerth to discuss a variety of matters such as dropping milk prices, the current state of the agricultural industry and the impact of the new Basic Payment System.

The meeting was held at Graiglwyd Ganol, a 200 acre third-generation family owned dairy farm, now run by Glyn Owen, his wife Vanessa and their 3 children who have invested heavily in a new milking parlour and cubicles for their 120 strong dairy herd.

Their biggest worry, like that of so many others in the industry, is the constant uncertainty about farmgate prices, market volatility and how they can survive in the coming years in an industry that is looking far from prosperous.

“We are of course concerned how we will keep the farm running and provide a future for our children. Our eldest son Gwion has come home to farm after spending time in Glynllifon College studying agriculture and all this upheaval after we have heavily invested in the farm brings us plenty of sleepless nights. It is however not just our bank accounts that we are worried about – what we get paid or not has an immediate knock-on effect on so many other rural businesses and it is about time that those higher up recognise this,” said Glyn Owen.

Following the visit Rhun Ap Iorwerth said: “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for our farmers to make a living from putting food on our table.

“Despite having recently invested in a new milking parlour, this family farm is under an enormous strain. They will survive due to sheer hard work and determination, and will hopefully reap the benefits when the industry starts to pick up, but it’s vital for our farmers to have continued support of their unions and charities such as R.A.B.I as we try to work towards improving the situation.”

FUW Anglesey county executive officer Heidi Williams said: “It was good to meet on site with Rhun Ap Iorwerth to highlight the problems faced by dairy farmers such as Glyn. We further had the opportunity to highlight how low farmgate prices affected the wider rural community and explain the wider importance of agriculture to Wales’ economy as a whole. There is a great deal more than just farm incomes riding on the release of for example the single farm payment and the long-term prosperity of our industry, and there is a great need for political recognition across the board.”

Please note that due to severe weather warnings issued for Saturday 14 November, the planned charity walk around the Hafod Estate has been cancelled.

We will re-arrange the event in aid of British Heart Foundation Cymru in the future.