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Brian Walters, second from right,receives the award from Welsh Dairy Show president Dai Davies. Also pictured are FUW Carmarthenshire county executive officer Meinir Bartlett and Welsh Dairy Show chairman Lynn Davies.[/caption]
Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Brian Walters has been presented with the FUW/United Counties Agriculture and Hunters Society's award for outstanding services to agriculture.
Together with his wife Ann and sons Aled and Seimon, Mr Walters runs a 500-acre holding at Clunmelyn, Ffynnonddrain, near Carmarthen. They have a dairy herd of 200 cows - some of which are pedigree Ayrshires - with 200 followers and 40 beef cattle.
They also run a self-catering farmhouse holiday unit and take pride in educating the occupants on the problems and joys of farming.
Mr Walters, a passionate and committed FUW supporter, has been a member since he started farming. He was Carmarthenshire county vice chairman from 1995 until 1997 when he became county chairman - a position he held for two years.
He is a past chairman of the FUW's Carmarthen branch milk committee (1995) and the union's central milk and dairy produce committee (1996-2000) and has been a vice president of the union since 2000.
Mr Walters was a district representative on Milk Marque's South Wales Board and then area representative on the Board of First Milk until 2002. He has represented the FUW on the Council of the Wales Federation of YFCs and the Organic Steering Group.
He has given evidence on TB in cattle to the House of Commons agriculture committee and, more recently, to the National Assembly's environment, planning and countryside committee.
Mr Walters has been fully involved in his local community for many years. He is a deacon of his local chapel - Elim, Ffynnonddrain - past chairman of St Peter's YFC, past Carmarthenshire YFC county chairman and past chairman of Wales YFC’s finance and organisation committee.
He has been fortunate to travel to Canada and Spain on behalf of the YFC and was asked to act as leader of a YFC trip to Sweden. He is currently chairman of the South Wales Ayrshire Club.
Over the last 18 years 15 students from Gelli Aur Agricultural College have had work experience on his farm.
He has acted in a local drama group for 20 years, compères local concerts and is an after-dinner speaker. During the past year, he has given over 50 TV and radio interviews in Welsh and English on various topics for Radio Cymru, Radio Wales and Radio 5 Live as well as participating in Farming Today on Radio 4 and Jeremy Vine’s programme on Radio 2.
He was also interviewed by a correspondent from the Wall Street Journal who was shown around his farm and introduced to local farmers.