Grass roots members of the NFU and FUW in Pembrokeshire may soon be asked to vote on a merger proposal.

There has long been thinly veiled rivalry between these two organisations but the creation of one single Welsh farming union would give farmers a unified and powerful voice, merger supporters believe.

The county chairman of the NFU in Pembrokeshire has gone a step further. Stephen Alderman has suggested that a coalition of all the organisations representing farmers in Wales - the CLA, the National Sheep Association and others - should be considered.

"I don't see this as solely an NFU and FUW issue. As an industry we have a broad church of members, we need to be able to approach the Government as a powerful group of people from the rural community,'' said Mr Alderman, of Court Farm, Castlemartin.

"The merger suggestion is one which could be taken further but not necessarily just from an NFU and FUW point of view. We need to widen it.''

There have been previous calls for a merger between the NFU and FUW. This latest proposal is said to come from Bob Parry, former president of the FUW, and Peredur Hughes, president of NFU Cymru.

The topic was raised at a FUW Council meeting in Aberystwyth on Thursday. A spokesman said any decision would have to be made by the grass roots members of both unions. "The feeling at the Council meeting was that the door is always open to discussion with any organisation but there has not yet been a formal approach to start talks,'' he said.