THE Farmers’ Union of Wales has appointed a Ceredigion beef farmer as its new Animal Health and Welfare Committee chairman at a meeting in Aberystwyth.

Ian Lloyd farms 115 acres at Hafan Hedd, Beulah, just outside of Newcastle Emlyn, and runs a herd of 25 Aberdeen Angus suckler cows, 25 calves and 27 yearlings.

Ian said: “I am honoured to head up this very important committee and thank the previous chair, Dr Catherine Nakielny, for all her hard work over the years.

“Animal health and welfare is a topic I care deeply about, and I look forward to assisting the FUW in making progress in the many areas this committee encompasses.

“Despite copious eradication programmes over the years, bovine TB continues to cause both emotional and financial difficulties, bringing many farming families to their knees, and it will remain a key subject for this committee.

“We know that the current levels of Bovine TB in Wales are in excess of what will be acceptable to other EU countries when the UK is outside the single market and we are deeply concerned that the current disease status has the potential to be a challenging negotiation tool."

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