Register today: NFU Cymru Conference 2026

05 October 2026
Abi Reader speaking at last year's conference

Once again, an impressive line-up of industry leaders will bring political, supply chain and agricultural insights to the annual NFU Cymru Conference.

This year’s event, titled ‘Delivering Success’ will once again be held at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells from 10am on Thursday 5 November and will focus on the growth of Welsh farming in the face of political, climatic and global changes.

Quick links

- Agenda
- Speaker biographies
- A message from the Director
- Registration

Agenda

 

10:00 – 10:05

Welcome and Opening Remarks – John Mercer

Opening video

10:05 – 10:20

Opening address - Delivering Success

Abi Reader, President, NFU Cymru

10:20 – 11:00

Political address

Key Note Political address

•    Llyr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability 
Address followed by Q+A

Chaired by Abi Reader, President, NFU Cymru

11:00 - 11:20

Coffee Break

11:20 - 12:10

Sustainable Food Production Systems

Prof Nigel Scollan;
Head of School, School of Biological Sciences (Queens University Belfast)
 
Chair: Tori Morgan, National Policy Adviser, NFU Cymru.

12:10 – 13:00

Delivering for Welsh Food

Simon Wright (Wrights Food Emporium & Chair of National Food Strategy)
  

Chaired by Dylan Morgan, Deputy Director and Head of Policy, NFU Cymru

13:00 -14:00

Lunch

14:00 – 14:45

  • Political Session
     
    Jo Kiernan
    (Cavendish consulting and host of Senedd Sources Podcast)

Chaired by Huw Thomas, Political Adviser, NFU Cymru

14:45 – 15:35

Welsh Farming: Delivering for the local economy


•    Alk Brand (Wynnstay CEO)
•    Susan Jones (Mona Tractors)
 
Chair: John Mercer, Director, NFU Cymru
 

15:35 – 15:40

Close of conference

  • Paul Williams, Deputy President, NFU Cymru

Speaker profiles

Abi Reader

NFU Cymru President

Abi is a third generation mixed farmer, farming in partnership with her parents and uncle in Wenvoe, just outside Cardiff. 

The farm is home to 200 milking cows, 50 acres of arable land, small-scale horticulture and an agroforestry plot.

Abi is a co-founder of Cows on Tour, an Open Farm Sunday host and a former NFU Cymru Wales Woman Farmer of the Year. In 2019 she was honoured by the Queen with an MBE for her services to agriculture.

Llyr Gruffydd MS

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability

Llyr Gruffydd was educated at Ysgol Bro Myrddin and Aberystwyth University.

He began his career as a youth worker before going to work for the Wales Youth Agency and the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services. He later became project manager for an economic development company. Gruffydd has also been a Management Consultant for the National Trust in Wales.

He stood for the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire seat at the Assembly Election in 2003. He stood for the same seat at the 2001 General Election, and for the Clwyd West seat at the 2010 General Election. He was elected as a MS for the North Wales region in 2011, and in 2026 became the MS for Clwyd.

Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, Welsh Government

Llyr Gruffydd was educated at Ysgol Bro Myrddin and Aberystwyth University.

He began his career as a youth worker before going to work for the Wales Youth Agency and the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services. He later became project manager for an economic development company. Gruffydd has also been a Management Consultant for the National Trust in Wales.

He stood for the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire seat at the Assembly Election in 2003. He stood for the same seat at the 2001 General Election, and for the Clwyd West seat at the 2010 General Election. He was elected as a MS for the North Wales region in 2011, and in 2026 became the MS for Clwyd.

Alk Brand

CEO of Wynnstay Group PLC

Alk Brand grew up in South Africa where he graduated with bachelor’s degree in business economics, a Hons Degree in Industrial Psychology and an MBA.

Alk Brand grew up in South Africa where he graduated with bachelor’s degree in business economics, a Hons Degree in Industrial Psychology and an MBA.

He also studied at the London School of Business and Finance and became an IOD qualified Chartered Director and was voted England Charter Director of the year in 2023. Alk joined Wynnstay Group Plc as Chief Executive Officer in October 2024, bringing more than 30 years of global leadership experience across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

A seasoned transformation and integration specialist, he has led multinational organisations through complex change, always with a focus on strong governance, operational discipline, and long term value creation.
During his time as Group CEO at Westfalia Fruit, Alk oversaw global expansion and major operational restructuring while safeguarding the organisation’s core values.

His earlier leadership roles at Pioneer Foods and Richardson International further shaped his disciplined, values led approach and ability to unify teams around a shared purpose.

At Wynnstay Group Plc, Alk leads a business rooted in agriculture, heritage, and community impact. His people first philosophy aligns with Wynnstay’s belief in empowering colleagues, strengthening rural economies, and supporting sustainable growth across the UK’s farming sector. He continues to champion cultures where people thrive, innovate, and deliver meaningful, lasting impact.

Professor Nigel D. Scollan

Head of School Biological Sciences, and Professor of Agriculture in the Institute for Global Food Security at Queens University, Belfast.

Nigel Scollan is Head of School Biological Sciences, and Professor of Agriculture in the Institute for Global Food Security at Queens University, Belfast. 

Nigel Scollan is Head of School Biological Sciences, and Professor of Agriculture in the Institute for Global Food Security at Queens University, Belfast. The Institute addresses key challenges around food security and one health. IGFS was determined as number 1 in Research Excellence Framework 2021 in unit of assessment 6 on agriculture, food and veterinary science.  The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a UK-wide assessment of the quality of research in universities undertaken by expert review panels.

Nigel conducted his PhD at The University of Edinburgh, followed by a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada before joining Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth in 1993 and subsequently Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) Aberystwyth University in 2008. He held several posts at IBERS including Waitrose Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Professor of Public Engagement with Science at Aberystwyth University, 

His research seeks to underpin the development of more sustainable and resilient food supply chains with focus on animal protein. Emphasis is focused on (1) driving productivity, (2) improving efficiency, (3) enhancing nutrient density and (4) reducing waste.  Research is also advancing the development of metrics to describe sustainability (economic, environmental and social) of farm systems and is using large and multi data streams and machine learning approaches to support on-farm decision making and underpin sustainability credentials of supply chains.

Nigel is a Past President of the British Society of Animal Science and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society in the UK and a past Director of the Oxford Farming Conference (2017-2020).  

Simon Wright

Owner of Wrights Food Emporium & Chair of National Food Strategy

Simon Wright has been running places to eat in Wales for over 35 years. Simon is a former editor of the AA Restaurant Guide, author of a couple of books including Tough Cookies (Profile 2004) and has broadcast about food issues for BBC Wales and Channel 4.

Simon Wright has been running places to eat in Wales for over 35 years.

Simon is a former editor of the AA Restaurant Guide, author of a couple of books including Tough Cookies (Profile 2004) and has broadcast about food issues for BBC Wales and Channel 4.

He was the Restaurant Consultant on all the UK and European episodes of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares between 2004 and 2015. His most recent radio series wasn’t We Can’t Go On Eating Like This BBC Radio Wales and is available as a podcast on BBC Sounds and Iplayer. Simon was named Food Ambassador For Wales in 2010

In 2025 Simon established a new charity Cegin Y Bobl with the author and Welsh food historian Carwyn Graves and others to work in schools and the community teaching food literacy through cooking - ceginybobl.co.uk.

He was appointed to Chair the Expert Working Group for the National Food Strategy for Wales in July of this year

Paul Williams

NFU Cymru Deputy President

Paul Williams farms livestock at Cae Haidd, Nebo, near Llanrwst in partnership with his wife Dwynwen and their three children. 

Paul has been an active NFU Cymru member for over 20 years and has previously served as NFU Cymru Clwyd County Chairman. He was instrumental in the iconic display of 5,500 pairs of wellingtons laid outside the Senedd in 2024 to show the industry’s opposition to the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme framework at the time.

A message from the Director

NFU Cymru Director John Mercer said: “Each year, we receive great feedback for the calibre of speakers we are able to attract to NFU Cymru Conference, our 2026 line-up promises to be one of our best events to date, given the speakers who have agreed to join us this year.

“NFU Cymru Conference is a popular event among the membership and so I encourage interested members to confirm their attendance as soon as possible.”

Register today

Members wishing to attend the conference can register on the link below. Alternatively, call the NFU Cymru office on 01982 554200 or email [email protected]


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