A north Wales livestock farmer has been elected to lead the Farmers’ Union of Wales following the retirement of its long-serving president.

Emyr Jones, who runs a suckler cow and sheep enterprise at Bala, was one of two contenders for the position vacated by Gareth Vaughan.

Also vying for the presidency was the union’s bovine TB spokesman, Carmarthenshire dairy farmer, Brian Walters.

Mr Jones was chosen by secret ballot at the FUW’s annual general meeting in Aberystwyth today (17 June).

He said he was proud to be elected and believed the industry needed a strong union because farmers could not ensure their future by themselves.

“In my new role I want to ensure that our hills and valleys are alive with the sound of families going about their business on their farms” he said. “My dream is that someone from Wales is always there in Brussels fighting on our behalf for our future. I believe in the Welsh farming industry, which I have been involved with all my life.”

Mr Jones was brought up on his family’s 144ha (356-acre) farm at Rhosygwaliau, which now carries 800 sheep and 60 suckler cows. His farm has won several prizes, including the British Grassland Society’s national grassland management competition in 2008.

He had been deputy president of the FUW since 2003. The union’s new deputy is sheep producer Glyn Roberts, who farms near Bettws-y-Coed.