Local dairy farmer secures top job (From Western Telegraph)

Local dairy farmer secures top job

Michael McNamara of Drim Farm, Llawhaden, Narberth, has been named as the new chairman of the South West Wales Agri-Food Partnership. The Agri-Food Partnership, which has four regional groups, is an advisory body established in spring 1999, to ensure co-ordination and co-operation across the agri-food industry. The partnership also has sector groups for lamb and beef; dairy; organics; farm development; horticulture, and fisheries/aquaculture.

The Welsh Development Agency provides the executive management for the partnership, delivers action plans developed by the advisory body. Mr McNamara replaces Margot Bateman, who has moved across to become chair of the new strategy group for fisheries and acquaculture. Mr McNamara's work has been based mainly in the dairy sector, and he has been involved with various agri-food marketing groups for the past 12 years.

In 1997 he set up Drim Farm Foods, which went on to win the NFU/Unigate Initiative on Food Marketing Award for his own farm-produced Pembrokeshire Clotted Cream.

Mr McNamara also established, and is a director of, the Channel Islands Milk Company, a company within Dairy farmers of Britain, the UK's largest supplier of Channel Island Milk.

He commented: "I am delighted to accept this new role as chair of the South West Agri-Food Partnership. I believe the partnership, working with the WDA, is an invaluable tool in bringing the industry together."

Welcoming Mr McNamara's new role, WDA agri-food director Wynfford James commented: "I am sure that Mr McNamara's experience in the dairy sector in South West Wales will prove invaluable to the partnership. "Membership of the Agri-Food Partnership comes from across the industry from farmers through to food processors, as well as from colleges, enterprise agencies, local authorities and farming unions," explained Mr James. "With the WDA and other partner organisations, the aim of the partnership is to help the industry become more market-focussed. "We want to improve co-ordination and co-operation between farmers, producers, processors and others in the food chain, and to support the development of new products and improved marketing of Welsh produce."