Officeholders
 | 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. |
 | Deputy President - Aled Jones Welsh speaker Aled Jones is an eighth generation dairy farmer and farms near Caernarfon with his son Osian. They run a herd of Holsteins. Aled is currently Chairman of the Cattle Information Services (CIS) and a member of the Welsh Dairy Leadership board. |
NFU Cymru Staff
Director - John Mercer John Mercer has been the Director of NFU Cymru since September 2014. A graduate of Harper Adams University College, John started his career with NFU Cymru in 2004 and has risen through the ranks holding a number of positions within the NFU including Senior Policy Adviser, Chief Livestock Adviser and most recently Regional Director for the West Midlands. Prior to his NFU career John has worked for both Welsh Government and the State Veterinary Service as well as spending a period of time overseas. |
Deputy Director/Head of Policy – Dylan Morgan Welsh speaker Dylan, who is based in Builth Wells, was born and bred on a small family farm and gained a BSc honours degree in Agriculture from Aberystwyth University.
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 | Head of Operations – Kevin Owen Welsh speaker Kevin first joined NFU Cymru in 1994 as Assistant Policy Adviser for North Wales, before becoming the Farm Policy Adviser for Clwyd and Montgomeryshire combined with a specialist advisory role to the NFU Cymru Livestock Board and Milk Board. Kevin became County Network Manager in 2016 and in 2019 was appointed Head of Operations with responsibility for membership strategy, recruitment & retention, membership connection and NFU Cymru work in its 11 County Branches. He also oversees the Union’s network of 36 local offices and 51 Group Secretaries, our contact with the NFU Mutual, the secretariat to NFU Cymru Council, properties, subscription income & resources. |
Membership
 | Membership Development Manager – Sophie Davies Welsh learner Sophie, who graduated from Aberystwyth University with a degree in Politics and Law, is a farmer’s daughter and was raised on the family beef and arable farm in Glamorgan. She has previously worked in recruitment holding positions with Edinburgh Woolen Mill, Microsoft and Eversheds Sutherland, before joining NFU Cymru and has been a member of Glamorgan YFC since a young age. Sophie’s role involves developing and overseeing the NFU Cymru membership offer and ensuring the organisation continues to provide the highest possible service and value for its members. |
County Advisers
Our County Adviser network ensures we have representation in all areas of Wales. Our five advisers work closely with group secretaries in each county and assist members with any issues they may have.
NFU Cymru events and county meetings are organised by our County Advisers. Visit our events page to find an event near you.
| County Adviser – Clwyd and Montgomeryshire – Joe Mault Welsh speaker Joe joined the busy team in 2017 and is based in the NFU Cymru Ruthin office. He works with NFU Mutual Group Secretaries to ensure the best possible service to members in Clwyd and Montgomeryshire. Joe graduated from Bangor University in 2010 with a Geology degree and is still heavily involved with the family beef and sheep farm in Bryneglwys Joe has previously worked for National Resources Wales as a Glastir Field Officer. More recently, he worked at the Environment Agency as a Flood and Coastal Risk Adviser where he led on flood incident management for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire. | |
| County Adviser – Anglesey, Mid Gwynedd and Meirionnydd – Iestyn Pritchard Welsh speaker Iestyn, who is based in the NFU Cymru Dolgellau office, works with the local group secretaries to deliver the NFU’s offering to members whilst also liaising with key stakeholders within the areas concerned. He has previously worked as a YFC county organiser in Anglesey. This was followed by an 11 year stint providing business support to farming families, initially through the CWYSI programme with economic development company Menter a Busnes, which later developed to providing and managing the local facilitator team for Farming Connect in Wales from its inception in 2001. | |
| County Adviser – Brecon & Radnor and Monmouthshire – 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. | |
| County Adviser – Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan – Aled Davies Welsh speaker Aled is based at the NFU Cymru Carmarthen office and works with local Group Secretaries in Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan. He graduated from Cardiff University in 2003 with an Economics degree, runs his own beef and sheep farm and has been heavily involved in the agricultural industry since graduating. Aled has previously worked for Farming Connect as a facilitator, worked as a manager throughout Wales for Cywain and was responsible for heading up the Cambrian Mountains project. | |
| County Adviser – Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire – Peter Howells Welsh speaker Peter Howells is the County Adviser for Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire and is based in the NFU Cymru Newcastle Emlyn office. Peter comes from Eglwyswrw in North Pembrokeshire and his family run an agricultural contracting business in the area. Peter joined NFU Cymru in June 2008 as a Farm Policy Adviser and prior to that he worked at the Animal Health Office in Carmarthen and has previously been employed by DEFRA working for the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) based in Cumbria. | |
Policy Team
| National Environment and Land Use Adviser – Rachel Lewis-Davies Rachel Lewis-Davies protects and furthers members’ interests on environmental and rural policies in Wales. Based at NFU Cymru HQ, Rachel is the Union’s main contact for engagement with Natural Resources Wales and with other statutory and non-statutory bodies involved with environmental and rural policy formulation and implementation. Rachel is the secretariat for both the NFU Cymru rural affairs and less favoured areas boards. A partner in a farm business, Rachel studied Environmental Management and European Rural Development at University and has significant experience of agriculture and rural development having worked in the sector in a range of roles for over 20 years. | |
| Policy Adviser – Dafydd Jarrett Welsh speaker Dafydd, who is based at NFU Cymru HQ, has been NFU Cymru’s Policy Adviser since January 2017 and with this role has responsibilities for livestock, dairy, poultry and animal health issues, he is also the secretariat for both the NFU Cymru milk and livestock boards. Previously, Dafydd worked as NFU Cymru Policy Adviser for Anglesey, Mid Gwynedd and Meirionnydd since 1997 and was awarded a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society for his work over the years with agri-environment in Wales. Prior to NFU Cymru Dafydd worked with ADAS as a dairy, livestock and farm management adviser, then worked on the inaugural Tir Cymen agri-environment scheme team. | |
| Political Adviser – Huw Thomas Welsh speaker Huw, who is based at NFU Cymru HQ, is from Pembrokeshire, where his parents still farm. He attended Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych before going on to study genetics at Cardiff University. He began working with NFU Cymru in 2004, having previously spent 5 years in the civil service. Huw’s day-to-day work includes liaison with AMs, MPs, MEPs and their staff, and representing the Union’s views to them, as well as monitoring and reporting on political development and activity in Cardiff, Westminster and Brussels. Over the last two years, much of Huw’s time has been given over to the EU referendum and Brexit. | |
| Assistant Policy Adviser - Bronwen Gardner Welsh learner Bronwen’s role within NFU Cymru is as an Assistant Policy Advisor. She works within the NFU Cymru Policy team, based at NFU Cymru HQ, and provides support across the following areas; commodity sectors, environment, rural affairs and parliament. She is also secretariat of the Crops and Horticulture and Next Generation groups. Bronwen has completed a degree in International Relations at Loughborough University and during her studies had a year in industry placement at the Welsh Government. | |
Communications team
| Communications Adviser – Daniel Johns Welsh learner Daniel joined NFU Cymru in 2016 and leads the busy Communications and Campaigns team based at NFU Cymru HQ. He has overall responsibility for all external communications from NFU Cymru, including the Union’s magazine Farming Wales. After graduating from Swansea University with a Media Studies degree in 2006, Daniel went on to work for the Brecon & Radnor Express, Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, Caerphilly County Borough Council and most recently Marie Curie, where he ran the charity’s communications operations in Wales. | |
| Deputy Communications Adviser – Rhian Hammond Welsh Speaker Rhian is based at NFU Cymru HQ and is involved with all aspects of external communications; she is responsible for NFU Cymru’s digital communications work, including the website and social media channels. She also deals with press queries, campaigns and contributes to Farming Wales. Rhian, who is from a farming background, graduated from Cardiff University in 2012 with a degree in Business Management and Marketing and also has an events management qualification gained from a placement with Wales YFC. | |
| Assistant Communications Adviser – Clare Williams Welsh learner Clare is based at NFU Cymru’s HQ and assists with the communications workload, including writing press releases, newspaper columns, responding to press queries and contributing articles for Farming Wales. Clare graduated from the University of Glamorgan in 2011 with a Journalism degree. She previously worked for The Brecon & Radnor Express where she was a reporter and the sports editor. Having grown up in a farming community, Clare uses her knowledge and experience to ensure NFU Cymru’s communications reaches the widest of audiences. | |
Support Team
| Office Manager – Sarah Thomas Welsh learner Sarah started working for NFU Cymru in April 2015 as an administrative assistant and has now taken over the role of Office Manager. Sarah is responsible for managing the NFU Cymru budget and finance, writing the budget and monitoring budget performance. She leads on the main NFU Cymru events and shows across Wales including the NFU Cymru Annual Conference. The Aberystwyth University graduate also manages NFU Commercial property across Wales, plays a key role at NFU Cymru Council meetings and maintains the health and safety facilities in HQ. | |
| Administrative Assistant – Lowri Morris Welsh learner Lowri’s responsibilities include looking after the NFU Cymru meeting calendar, member communications, including circulating agendas minutes for commodity board and county meetings and typing up notes and minutes. She is also responsible for supporting the communications team when needed. Lowri has recently graduated from Glyndwr University after studying Business and IT Management. Throughout her university course she worked part time at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society in the livestock department. | |
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