Gwobr £2000 Dr Emrys Evans yn mynd i gystadleuydd o Sir Benfro
One of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society’s most sought-after prizes, the Dr Emrys Evans Award, which is given annually to people who have contributed in an exceptional way to rural skills, has been won this year by Arfon Phillips of Fferm Ty Mawr, Llanfyrnach, Pembrokeshire.
The theme for 2008 of the once-in-a-lifetime award was stockman’s skills and the judges assessed the entrants for their expertise in the breeding and feeding of cattle, selecting stock, the preparation of animals for markets and shows, the selection of feed, recording, and such livestock husbandry techniques as foot trimming, dehorning, dosing and inoculating.
Men and women competing for the prize must be under 35 years old and must live in the county they represent although they may work elsewhere. Eleven candidates from across Wales were nominated by the RWAS county advisory committees and in their report the judges said they found the standard of the very strong entry exceptionally high, not only in the level of skills and detailed management of stock but also in the optimism expressed about the future performance of the cattle sector of agriculture.
“After an in-depth study of the award’s criteria and relating these to the entrants we came to the unanimous decision that we had found a worthy winner in Arfon Phillips, the Pembrokeshire candidate,” was the verdict of the three judges.
The winner will receive the £2000 prize together with a certificate and a piece of Welsh Royal Crystal at a presentation at the Royal Welsh Show which takes place at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, from July 21 – 24.
Dr Emrys Evans was chairman of the Royal Welsh board of management on which he served for 32 years. He died on the eve of the centenary show in 2004. The award, which is sponsored by HSBC Bank, was introduced in his memory in 2006.