William Davies from Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire has been announced as the winner of the 2024 NFU Cymru / NFU Mutual Dairy Stockperson of the Year Award at the Welsh Dairy Show in Nantyci, Carmarthenshire.

The competition, now in its 11th year, recognises the important contribution a good dairy stockperson can make to a dairy enterprise, as well as the wider Welsh dairy industry.

During a presentation at the Welsh Dairy Show, William was presented with the top prize of £500 and a Welsh slate engraved cheese board by NFU Cymru Dairy Board Chairman, Jonathan Wilkinson and Rhys Williams, NFU Cymru / NFU Mutual Group Secretary, who judged the competition.

William, a former pupil of Ysgol y Preseli, takes care of the day-to-day management of the family’s Holstein dairy herd. Upon finishing school, he studied agriculture at Harper Adams University where he spent his industrial placement year working on a dairy farm in the Vale of Glamorgan.

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After graduation, William returned home to Fynnonbrodyr to farm alongside his parents, where he has now taken an increasing responsibility in all aspects of the herd.

William is very much hands on, carrying out a range of day-to-day tasks including milking, calf and youngstock rearing and artificial insemination. He is also responsible for herd management, using DairyComp 305 software, activity monitors and milk recording software.

He oversees the genetic selection, health and fertility, nutrition and performance monitoring, working closely with the farm vet and nutritionist.

Speaking after the presentation, NFU Cymru Dairy Board Chair Jonathan Wilkinson said: “I would like to congratulate William on winning this award. His passion and positivity for the future of the dairy industry here in Wales, meant he stood out during the judging process.

Having been back working on the home farm for the past six years, William’s confidence, ability and knowledge base has grown in that time. His enthusiasm and determination to further improve and grow the business was clear to see and he is a very worthy winner of this award.”

Rhys Williams, NFU Cymru / NFU Mutual Group Secretary said: “It really is a privilege to be a part of the judging process for this fantastic competition. There are some fantastic people working within the dairy industry here in Wales and William is testament to the high calibre of dairy farmer we are lucky to have producing milk for us.

"He has a superb range of practical and technical skills, and we could tell he is very passionate about wanting to take the business forward in terms of scale and efficiency.”