Wales YFC News

What a weekend we had on the 17th-18th of January 2026. Our annual Agri Conference and Agri Awards were held in Tanygraig, Aberystwyth, the winners of last year’s Wales YFC Best Diversification award, and it was the perfect venue to host the event.

The weekend kicked off with the Conference on Saturday morning with a crowd of members and the public attending to listen to 3 exceptional speakers discussing their vision on the topic of ‘Inspiring the Next Generation’. We as an organisation are delighted to have three top quality speakers attending and sharing their experiences, namely Brian Jones MBE, Castell Howell; Katie Davies, Fourth Generation Farmer and Ifan Roberts, Farmer and Nuffield Scholar. During the session members had the opportunity to ask elegant questions to the panel which was chaired by Will Prichard, Chairman of the CCF Board. We must thank CCF for sponsoring our Conference and for the continued support over the past few years, the day would not have been possible without their support.

The crowd had the opportunity during the lunch break to visit various stalls such as Farm Safety, FCN Cymru and Harper Adams University. After lunch from Gegin Cwm Gwaun the crowd went on a Farm visit to the Evans Family, Rhosgoch, Llanilar. It was great to hear about the business from Gethin and the family and how he has developed the business over the years and adapted along the way. The crew walked down to see the family’s diversification of ‘Jibinc’ which is a luxurious treehouse with a hot tub in a quiet location, the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Before leaving the farm the members received a presentation from Rhys Jones from Arwain DGC about the use of antibiotics on and within the farm.

Saturday night soon came and the time for our 2026 Agri Awards. Seeing Tangraig full of members and their families eagerly awaiting the results was wnderfull. There evening was hosted by Dylan Jones, former Chair of the Wales YFC Rural Affairs Committee and former Chair of Wales YFC. What an excellent meal from Teleri and her team from Cegin Cwm Gwaun.

After eagerly waiting, it was time to announce the winners in this year’s six categories as well as the 2025 Pork Pork Producer Competition. Iwan Davies, Brecon came out on top in this year with Teleri Griffiths, Ceredigion in second place. We would like to thank the NFU Charitable Trust and Farming Connect for their support of the competition throughout the year that enables us to hold the competition. 

Eirwen Williams, on behalf of Mentera was then invited to give her adjudication on the best Diversification Award, she noted that the standard and diversity of the businesses was excellent and encouraged all members to persevere with their businesses. This award was won by Huw Eiddon Lewis, Montgomery YFC and the runners up were Reece Jones, Breconock YFC and Lewis Thomas, Carmarthenshire YFC.

Leprino sponsored the next prize being the Sustainable Milk Stockman, Dylan Jones who talked us through the applications as one of the judges. This year’s award was won by Math Thomas, Meirionnydd YFC and runner-up Melissa Fletcher from Brecknock YFC. The judges were amazed by the enthusiasm of each member who participated and thanked them for the welcome on their farms.

The two shortlisted for the Best Grassland Management Award were Sion Evans, Montgomer YFC and Osian Hughes, Eryri YFC. Paul Morgan from Germinal was our adjudicator for this award and he spoke of the pleasure of having the honour of judging and giving back to the organisation after many years as a member. Osian took first prize this year with Sion in second place.

CCF were the sponsors of our Rural Champion with Richard Lewis and Jeff Evans judging. Both stressed that the work of each member interviewed was invaluable in their communities and encouraged them to continue with their work and dedication. This year’s winner was Lynfa Jones, Montgomery YFC with Lowri Jones, Carmarthenshire YFC coming second.

After visiting 12 farms, the judges from Kepak, sponsors of the Stock Producer of the Year Award, selected two members for their shortlist. However, they had a special award to give Rhianydd Davies, Carmarthenshire YFC for standing out in the competition despite being only a very young member of the Wales YFC. This year’s winner was Daniel Evans, Ceredigion YFC and runner-up was Iwan Lewis, Montgomery YFC. Prys Morgan and Frances Thomas from Kepak mentioned that they really enjoyed travelling around Wales to visit all the farms.

The final award presented was the Mental Health Champion sponsored by DPJ and Samaritans Cymru. The adjudication was delivered by Gethin Bickerton and Siân Vaughan-Jones. Montgomery YFC came out on top this year with Lois Davies, Carmarthenshire YFC coming second. The judging panel noted how important the ork each candidate was doing to the communities and each was an inspiration to other members.

We would like to thank all the sponsors of the awards, and everyone involved in the judging and interviewing process. The evening ended with entertainment from Newshan and it’s safe to say that the members celebrated their accomplishments.

On Sunday members enjoyed a visit to Innovis which included a talk from Dewi Jones about the business followed by a stock judging exercise and a behind the scenes look at the CT scanner in action.

We look forward to next year’s Agriculture Conference and Awards.