NFU Cymru Opens Search for Dairy Stockperson of the Year
NFU Cymru and NFU Mutual are seeking nominations for the 13th recipient of their Dairy Stockperson of the Year award. The competition is open to dairy stock managers across Wales and is intended to recognise people involved in the care and management of dairy herds.
The successful candidate will be awarded £500 along with a Welsh slate cheese board bearing an engraving. Entries must be submitted by Friday, September 18. The winner is due to be announced at the Welsh Dairy Show on Tuesday, October 20, 2025.
The announcement will take place at the United Counties Showground in Carmarthen. Candidates will be assessed on several aspects of their work, including herd care and management, the operation of the breeding programme, animal-handling ability, participation in the dairy business and knowledge of the Welsh dairy industry.
Jonathan Wilkinson, chairman of the NFU Cymru Dairy Board, will judge the competition for NFU Cymru. He said: “As a dairy farmer, I am very passionate about the agricultural industry and championing those individuals who go the extra mile to ensure they have happy, healthy cows is important.”
Wilkinson said the award was designed to acknowledge the contribution made by an effective dairy stockperson to an individual enterprise and to Wales’s dairy industry. He urged people to nominate a dairy farmer or manager in their area whose work merited recognition.
Rhys Williams, NFU Cymru and NFU Mutual group secretary for Llandeilo, will judge on behalf of NFU Mutual. He said: “The quality of stockmanship is a major factor in determining the success of any dairy enterprise. We have some superb stock people involved in the dairy industry in Wales, and I am confident that this will be a keenly contested competition and one which NFU Mutual is pleased to support as the leading farming insurer.”
Application forms are available through the NFU Cymru website. Enquiries can also be sent to clare.williams@nfu.org.uk or made by telephone to the NFU Cymru office on 01982 554200.
