FUW stalwart honoured for years of service
Pembrokeshire beef and sheep farmer Brian Thomas, who started farming at the age of 15, has received the Farmers’ Union of Wales internal award for services to agriculture.
Presenting the award at the 100th Royal Welsh Show on July 24, FUW president Glyn Roberts said: “Brian has been a rock-solid friend and working partner for over 20 years. He is always willing to help, support and give advice. It is fair to say that Brian is someone I could and can rely on.
“Over the years Brian has gone above and beyond in serving not just this union but the industry as a whole. He is
not afraid to ruffle a few feathers if it means farmers get a better deal, be that through leading protests or campaigning at government level.
“It is fair to say that the industry in Wales has benefited greatly from Brian’s active lobbying and efforts to make our sector a better place for everyone involved.”
Brian is a past county chairman of the FUW in Pembrokeshire and has previously sat on the FUW’s central tenants’ committee. He was elected south Wales member of the central finance and organisation committee in 2011, vicepresident of the FUW in 2013 and deputy president in 2015.
Brian runs a herd of 40 sucklers cows and 80 followers of pedigree beef shorthorn cattle and a sheep flock of 100 ewes, as well as growing 60 acres of cereals on his 280acre farm Llwyncelyn Lan, Llanfyrnach.
During the 1996 BSE outbreak, Mr Thomas lead the campaign in south-west Wales opposing the importation of inferior beef into Wales. In 1997 he led a group of farmers to Tesco’s stand at the Royal Welsh Show to address them about the unfair way they were treating the industry, and he has been a leading figure in the fight against bovine TB.