Guests will include John Davies, NFU Cymru President; Peter Hardwick, Trade Policy Advisor BMPA; Kevin Roberts, Chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru and Wyn Evans, NFU Cymru Livestock Board Chairman. The session will be chaired by Stella Owen, NFU Cymru County Adviser.

Guest Speakers

NFU Cymru President – John Davies

John Davies farms with his family in Merthyr Cynog, near Brecon. He is married to Menna with two children, Sioned and Brychan. He has 100 suckler cows, 1,000 ewes, and runs a silage contracting business and holiday accommodation. John is currently club leader of his local Pontfaen YFC and a community councillor. He was President of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society in 2012 and currently sits on the RWAS Board of Management.

Trade Policy Adviser BMPA - Peter Hardwick

Peter is the Trade Policy Adviser at the British Meat Processors Association. He has worked in the international meat sector for 40 years in meat production and processing, international trading and exports as well as in policy and support roles. He worked in the industry in UK, South Africa, Brazil and Spain before joining the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) in 1994 where, for 15 years, he was based in Brussels, running the EU office of that organisation, extending this role to managing the MLC meat export work from 1999. The MLC was integrated into the AHDB on its creation in 2008 and he returned to UK in 2010 and to manage the domestic and international trade development work at EBLEX. From 2016 Peter went on to manage the wider AHDB international trade development and marketing work for in the meat, dairy and crops sectors as well as AHDB EU team based in Brussels. He left the AHDB in 2018. Peter is a dedicated internationalist and speaks five languages.

Chairman Hybu Cig Cymru - Kevin Roberts 

Kevin is a qualified accountant who has held a number of senior positions in agriculture since leaving the private sector in 1993.

He was Director General at the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) from 2002 until 2007 when he worked with Government to amalgamate all agricultural levy boards into a new single body called the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). Subsequently, he became the first Chief Executive of AHDB, and then joined the NFU as Director General and held this post until 2013.

Since moving into self-employment, Kevin has held a number of non executive posts and has carried out work for the Welsh Government including the Review into the Resilience of Welsh Farming and the Review of Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).  

Kevin was previously the independent Chair of Amaeth Cymru.

Kevin was appointed Chair of HCC in July 2017 and is a member of the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs’ Round Table Forum and sits on the First Minister’s European Advisory Group.

NFU Cymru Livestock Board Chairman - Wyn Evans

Wyn Evans farms an upland beef and sheep unit near Aberystwyth, in partnership with his wife and children. His main enterprise is a 400 head improved welsh ewe flock as well as 40 aberfields and a small flock of poll dorsets. The sheep are run alongside a dozen cows and 40 calves on powder milk. All farm work is done in-house except for shearing and hedge cutting.

Outside of farming, Wyn enjoys vintage machinery, keeping an eye on politics and tinkering in the workshop.

Wyn represents Welsh livestock farmers on the NFU Livestock Board.

Chair - NFU Cymru County Adviser - Stella Owen

Stella is based at the NFU Cymru HQ and has worked for NFU Cymru since 2004. Her role includes advising and assisting group secretaries and members in the Brecon and Radnor and Monmouthshire counties.

Stella, who graduated from Aberystwyth University with a Business Studies degree, is married with two children and lives on a beef and sheep farm outside Brecon. Having been brought up on a farm, Stella has a sound knowledge and understanding of the issues and challenges facing the industry.