2014’s Wales Woman Farmer of the Year has been named as Eleri Lloyd from Ffynonlwyd Farm in Llangynin, Carmarthenshire. The competition, sponsored by NFU Cymru and Prinicipality Building Society, is in its 18th year, aims to celebrate the sometimes overlooked women farming sector.
Eleri is a successful farmer-cum-businesswoman who runs a 300 cow dairy farm, water engineering business employing 10 people, a B&B and a self-catering cottage. The two runners up are Maureen Hedley and Meinir Evans. Maureen is a recent graduate from Aberystwyth University’s Agriculture degree and works as an assistant herdswoman in Pembrokeshire, while Meinir runs a farm in Carmarthenshire.
John Davies, NFU Cymru Deputy President, said Eleri was a worthy winner of the award: “NFU All three of the shortlisted finalists were of a very high standard. All three have one thing in common – complete commitment to the farms they work on and to the industry as a whole. However, we were unanimous as judges, as soon as we left Eleri’s farm, that she had to be the winner of the award this year. Eleri is a shining example of the old saying – if you want something done ask a busy person. She is a shining example for the title Wales Woman Farmer of the Year.”