Titled ‘Shaping Welsh Farming’s Future’, the Wynnstay sponsored on-farm event will promote the crucial role of farmers in Wales in producing high quality food alongside protecting, maintaining and enhancing the farmed environment, along with underpinning our rural communities and the Welsh language.
The event will begin with tea and coffee at 10.30am and will be hosted at Bodwi, Mynytho, Pwllheli, LL53 7SG by kind permission of Edward Griffith and family.
Net zero focus
The third Sustainable Farming Conference hosted by NFU Cymru will focus on farming’s net zero journey, with keynote speaker Professor John Gilliland. John is an award-winning willow and livestock farmer from Northern Ireland, whose farm has independently been verified to be ‘Beyond’ Net Zero, today. He is also Professor of Practice in Agriculture and Sustainability at Queens University, Belfast.
There will be a sustainable farming in practice session, with a farmer panel highlighting the economic, environmental, social and cultural contribution of farming to Wales, and finally, weather permitting, a short farm work showcasing some of the environmental and net zero action being undertaken at Bodwi.
Symbiotic relationship between farming and the environment
“This event is all about celebrating the symbiotic relationship between farming and the environment. It’s a conference that shines a light on all of the great work Welsh farmers do to maintain and enhance nature, biodiversity and habitats in and around their farms, their contribution to net zero and their local communities alongside their core role as food producers."
NFU Cymru President, Aled Jones
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “I expect this year’s Sustainable Farming Conference will be a useful forum for constructive discussion between all those who share an interest in delivering the environmental benefits we all wish to see at this pivotal time for the industry, as Welsh Government continues to work on its future farm policy, the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
“We are of course very grateful to the Griffith family for hosting this year’s conference and Wynnstay Plc, who are our event sponsors. I’m sure the planned tour of this fantastic farm will be a real highlight of the day.”
Want to learn more about the Griffiths?
Edward Griffith and his family featured in our monthly membership magazine, Farming Wales. It was focused on their carbon conscious credentials. Read about the Griffiths family farm.
As an alumni of the US International Visitor Leadership Program, John Gilliland is highly respected and recognised as an excellent leader and communicator across the breadth of the Agri Food and Sustainable Land Management Sectors. This has included presentations to the Joint EU Agriculture & Environment Council, Bratislava, and the Global Summit on Soil Security, Sydney, where he was awarded “Best Paper.”
He has been an award winning farmer in Ireland; President of the Ulster Farmers Union; a Non Executive Director of the Scottish Rural College (SRUC), and an Energy Regulator in N. Ireland; while at the same time, he has been a policy adviser for Devolved, National and European Governments on Biotechnology, Climate Change and Sustainability.
In particular, for seven years, John chaired the UK’s Rural Climate Change Forum, reporting directly to the Secretary of State of DEFRA, London, and supporting the UK at COP15 in Copenhagen. While Director of SRUC in Edinburgh, he helped set up their very successful Carbon Management Centre.
For seven years as Director of Agriculture and Sustainability of the Irish livestock nutrition company, Devenish, John led the development of the their research farm, the Lands at Dowth, transforming it into both a Lighthouse Farm for WUR’s (Wageningen University & Research) Global Network of Lighthouse Farms, and a Living Lab, in a project called Heartland, with five PhD students, in partnership with WUR and UCD, and funded by the EU’s Marie Curie Programme, https://www.heartlandproject.eu/heartland
Also speaking are:
Llyr Gruffydd MS, Plaid Cymru
Paul Williams, beef farmer
Gary Yeomans, mixed farmer
Mared Williams, Rhug Estate
Trevor Lloyd, dairy farmer
Agenda
|
10.30am |
Tea/coffee
|
|
11.00am |
Introduction – John Mercer, Director – NFU Cymru
|
|
11.05am |
Welcome to Bodwi - Edward Griffith
|
|
11.10am |
President’s Address - Aled Jones, NFU Cymru President Shaping Welsh Farming’s Future |
|
11.20am |
Keynote speaker – Professor John Gilliland OBE Beyond Net Zero Q&A chaired by NFU Cymru President |
|
12.10pm |
Political Address Llyr Gruffydd MS, Plaid Cymru Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs Q&A chaired by NFU Cymru President |
|
12.25pm |
Farmer Panel - Sustainable Farming in Practice
Q&A chaired by Abi Reader, NFU Cymru Deputy President
|
|
1.10pm |
Sustainability – A Supply Chain Perspective – Wynnstay Group Plc Andrew Evans, Group Sustainability, Innovation & Food Supply Chain Director
|
|
1.20pm |
Summing up and thanks Hedd Pugh, Chair NFU Cymru Rural Affairs Board
|
|
1.30pm |
Lunch
|
|
2.15pm |
Short Farm Tour – led by Edward Griffith
|
|
3.00pm |
Depart
|
Registration
Pre-booking is essential. The conference is free for NFU Cymru members and stakeholders to attend. Lunch will be provided. NFU Cymru members can register here (you will be asked to log in)
Alternatively, you can call the office on 01982 554200.
NFU Cymru Sustainable Farming Conference - Register here
