Top honour for Meurig (From Western Telegraph)

Top honour for Meurig

Pembrokeshire farmer Meurig Raymond has been elected deputy president of the National Farmers' Union.

Mr Raymond, who is 53 and has held the post of vice-president for the past two years, was elected following a vote of council delegates at the NFU annual conference in Birmingham.

His priority, he has pledged, is to ensure a profitable future for agriculture by setting a viable framework in place.

"The supply chain imbalance must be corrected and a tougher statutory code of practice introduced,'' he said.

"My view is if the centres of our fields are profitable, the headlands and the hedgerows will be well managed by successful farming. Communication with our membership and the public is fundamental and we must do better.''

This, he added, was a two-way process and the NFU must also hear the views of members.

"We must be relevant to all members in the challenging years ahead,'' he said.

Mr Raymond, who farms 1,100 hectares in north Pembrokeshire in partnership with his twin brother, Mansel, was standing against Somerset dairy farmer Derek Meade for the post.

Mr Meade is an NFU council delegate and founder of Better NFU.