NFU Cymru Deputy President John Davies has welcomed Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, to an on-farm meeting to discuss issues affecting the Welsh agricultural industry.
The meeting, held at John Davies’ Pentre Farm in Merthyr Cynog, near Brecon, saw Lesley Griffiths take part in a tour of the farm.
She met NFU Cymru members and farm staff, and learnt how the family farm business has diversified.
She also saw a range of environmental work carried out in the area by farmers.
As part of the visit, the Cabinet Secretary was able to meet agri-students from Builth High School, who along with their counterparts from Gwernyfed High School, regularly visit Pentre Farm as part of a course run by Coleg Sir Gar.
The visit also gave John Davies and his NFU Cymru colleagues the opportunity to discuss a range of topics with the Cabinet Secretary including bovine TB, the Wales Rural Development Plan and access to the single market post-Brexit, over a lunch prepared with local produce.
Other issues raised during the meeting included the challenges facing the tenanted farm sector and the need to maintain local authority farms, public food procurement and the launch of the new NVZ consultation.
Dafydd Jones, Wales YFC Senior Member of the Year, was also present to ask the Cabinet Secretary about future support for young entrants to agriculture.
'Importance of working together'
Following the meeting, NFU Cymru Deputy President John Davies said: "It was fantastic to be able to welcome the Cabinet Secretary to the farm today and give her an insight into the day-to-day running of the business and the important role that agriculture plays for the Welsh economy, employment, the environment and rural communities.
"I was particularly pleased to be able to show her the environmental work we have undertaken here and how productive agriculture and environmental management can go hand in hand.
"Farmers across Wales have undertaken similar measures through the support of historic and current schemes in order to enhance the landscape and support local species.
"Throughout the visit, the Cabinet Secretary stressed the importance of working together, particularly as the UK approaches a future outside the European Union.
"We are committed to working with her and her Welsh Government colleagues to secure a profitable, progressive and productive future for agriculture in Wales," Mr Davies concluded.
