Fundraisers from Monmouthshire scooped the Bryn Davies Bowl at farming charity RABI’s annual awards ceremony in Oxfordshire this week.

More than 200 people attended RABI’s annual AGM / awards ceremony, including Lord Plumb, former president of the NFU, John Kinnaird, RSABI chairman, Nina Clancy, RSABI CEO and Charles Smith, CEO of the Farming Community Network. The speaker was Sarah Dunning OBE, whose farming family launched the highly-acclaimed Tebay Services and Gloucester motorway service stations.

The Bryn Davies Bowl is awarded to the Welsh county committee which made the greatest contribution to RABI in 2016.

RABI chairman Malcolm Thomas, who hails from Carmarthen, said: “Monmouthshire’s newly-formed and hugely enthusiastic committee organised five events in their first year of existence. This award is richly deserved.”

In 2016, RABI gave out grants of around £2.1 million to farming people in hardship in Wales and England and also helped people claim more than £287k in state benefits and tax credits.

Voluntary income is RABI’s chief source of funding and the charity has more than 50 county committees – including 12 in Wales – who work at a grass-roots level to raise funds and awareness.