Due to be held with a little over 50 days before the end of the Brexit transition period, this year’s NFU Cymru Conference brings together a rich variety of top class speakers at a significant time for Welsh agriculture.
Among the confirmed speakers at the conference this year will be Secretary of State for International Trade, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP and Welsh Government Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths MS.
NFU Cymru Director John Mercer said: “While the format for this year’s event will be a change from what members are normally accustomed to, please be assured the high standards that members have grown to expect at our annual conference have not changed. The NFU Cymru Conference has proved to be a resounding success year-on-year and I have no reason to suspect that the 2020 edition will be any different despite the challenges we face.
“I’m thrilled that once again we’ve been able to attract such high quality speakers from across the political sphere, agricultural industry and the food sector. Given the challenges that Coronavirus continues to throw at society and the end of the Brexit transition period fast approaching, there will be plenty for our speakers to discuss.
“I very much hope that NFU Cymru members and others with an interest in Welsh agriculture will be able to join us for what should be a fantastic day of information and debate. Please register your interest in plenty of time ahead of the conference on Thursday 5th November.”
The conference is open to all NFU Cymru members and is free to view.
If you are able to join us please do register your interest and specify which session(s) you would like to attend along with any pre-submitted questions by emailing bmZ1LmN5bXJ1QG5mdS5vcmcudWs= or calling the office on 01982 554200.
Session 1 - Biography - Lesley Griffiths MS
Lesley Griffiths was brought up in North East Wales and has lived and worked in Wrexham all her adult life. She has two daughters and has served as a school governor and community councillor. She worked at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital for 20 years. Prior to her election she worked as constituency assistant to Ian Lucas, MP. As a strong supporter of devolution for Wales, she played an active role in the 1997 'Yes for Wales' campaign. She is a member of Unison.
She was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2007 and served on several Assembly Committees. She set up and chaired the Cross-Party Hospice Group. In December 2009, she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills. Following re-election to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2011, Lesley Griffiths was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services and in March 2013 was appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business. In September 2014, she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty. In May 2016, following re-election, she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs. Lesley was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs on 3rd November 2017. On 13th December 2018, Lesley was appointed Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs.
Outside of politics, her main hobbies are music, walking and watching Wrexham Football Club. Lesley is formerly an elected director of the Wrexham Supporters Trust.
Session 2 - Biographies
John Davies - NFU Cymru President
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.
Patrick Holden - Founder and Chief Executive, Sustainable Food Trust
Patrick Holden is the founder and chief executive of the Sustainable Food Trust, an organisation founded in 2012 that is working internationally to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems. Prior to this he was director of the Soil Association (until 2010) during which time his advocacy and campaigning for more sustainable food systems was underpinned through the development of the organic standards and market-place.
His farming experience spans nearly 50 years, centred on Holden Farm Dairy, now the longest established organic dairy farm in West Wales, where he produces Hafod cheese from the milk of his 80 Ayrshire cows.
He was awarded a CBE for services to organic farming in 2005, is Patron of the UK Biodynamic Farming Association and was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2016.
Patrick is a regular writer, broadcaster, and speaker at public events.
Dr Tim Render - Welsh Government Director for Environment and Rural Affairs
Tim Render is Director for Environment and Rural Affairs in the Welsh Government. He leads work on environment, food, land use and agriculture policy. This includes ensuring the Welsh Government is prepared for the new responsibilities coming to it as the UK leaves the EU, and for development of future agriculture policy. He is responsible for operational delivery of payments to farmers including the £850m Rural Development Programme in Wales, as well as sponsorship of Natural Resources Wales.
He has extensive experience as a policy maker in Whitehall and Brussels and in ensuring effective delivery of policy on the ground. He has worked throughout his career on environmental, economic development and food and farming issues.
Before joining the Welsh Government in 2018, Tim led the Great British Food Unit in Defra, managing the work across government to ensure an effective and successful Brexit for the food chain. He also led work to grow the exports of UK food and drink, especially through negotiating market access for UK products around the world, notably in China, Japan and the USA. Tim has held senior positions in Brussels, where he was Counsellor – Regions and Agriculture in the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels where he was the lead UK official negotiator for the last round of CAP reform and the agreement of the European Structural and Innovation Funds, and as Defra’s Regional Director in the South West of England.
Andy Richardson - Chair Welsh Government Food and Drink Board
Andy was educated at Magdalen College school followed by an Honours Degree in Agriculture. He joined Unilever in 1989 then BOCM PAULS where he held several commercial roles including that of Marketing Manager.
In 2000, he joined Volac and is now responsible for leading corporate affairs in one of the most dynamic UK dairy nutrition businesses.
Andy has a passion for British food & drink. He chaired the Welsh Dairy industry review in 2015 and currently Chairs the Welsh Food & Drink Industry Board. He is a member of the UK Food and Drink Sector Council and has recently been appointed to the British Government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group.
He is a co-Founder of the international collaboration ‘Protein Challenge 2040’ which aims to develop a sustainable global balance between protein production and consumption and is initiating a similar collaboration to look at globally sustainable edible fats and oils.
Andy chairs the UK Dairy Productivity initiative, is a member of the Agricultural Forum and contributes to Cambridge University’s Sustainability Programme for Sustainable Leadership.
Session 3 - Biography
Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, Secretary of State for International Trade
Elizabeth Truss was appointed Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade on 24 July 2019. She was appointed Minister for Women and Equalities on 10 September 2019. She was elected as the Conservative MP for south west Norfolk in 2010. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Merton College, Oxford.
Elizabeth entered Parliament in 2010. She was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare in September 2012. Elizabeth served as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from July 2014 until July 2016. Elizabeth was Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from July 2016 until June 2017. She was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from June 2017 until July 2019.
Elizabeth was previously Deputy Director at Reform. She also worked in the energy and telecommunications industry for 10 years as a commercial manager and economics director and is a qualified management accountant. She is married with two children.
Session 4 - Biographies
Tim Smith - Chair of Trade & Agriculture Commission
For over three decades Tim had leading roles as CEO with manufacturers in the food sector including Northern Foods, Sara Lee, Express Dairies and Arla. In 2008 Tim became Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
From 2012 until 2017, Tim was Group Quality Director at Tesco. He has served as a Non-Executive Director at Cranswick plc for two years and since May 2019 has been a Non-Executive Director at?Pret?A?Manager. He sits on the Boards of the University of Leeds and Farm Africa. He is currently the Chair of the government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission.
Tim has a unique independent perspective on the food and farming sector. He spent the majority of his career in leading food companies as CEO. This was followed by a spell in the public sector as the FSA’s Chief Executive, the UK’s food regulator. Returning to the private sector he took on the role of Group Quality Director for Tesco plc working directly for Dave Lewis the CEO as it transformed its approach to sourcing all its products.
Tim is currently a senior independent adviser and non-executive director. He was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Trade and Agriculture Commission.
In the last year he advised Pret A Manger on all aspects of consumer protection. Prior to that as an advisor for Tesco he worked on food policy, Brexit, health, agriculture and food waste: sustainable, affordable, healthy food produced in a system which benefits all the participants.
Nicholas Saphir - AHDB Chair
Nicholas has a wide background in agriculture and horticulture, having built a public company, farming, processing and trading fruit and vegetables in the UK, Europe, southern Africa and South America. His dairy experience includes spending the last 18 years building the Organic Milk Producers' Cooperative (Omsco) into the world’s second largest dedicated organic milk cooperative, with exports of cheese, butter and infant formula grade milk powders to the USA, EU and Australasia. He also has a long and successful record of chairing industry and government bodies in the food and farming sector, including being the chairman of the Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Cooperation, founder chairman of Food from Britain, president of the Fresh Produce Consortium and chairman of the Agricultural Forum.
Robin Manning - Director of BAB
Robin has been Director of the British Agriculture Bureau since March this year. BAB represents UK farmers in Brussels through its network with other European farming organisations and the EU institutions. Robin is an experienced farming policy expert having worked previously for Defra, the European Commission and the Rural Payments Agency.