The Farming Minister visited Ottery St Mary and held a round-table discussion with members of the local agriculture industry on Thursday, March 9.

Mark Spencer’s visit came as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) set out more detail on the support schemes available to help farmers produce sustainable food.

A group of local dairy, livestock and horticultural farmers attended the event.

Mr Spencer said: “I would like to thank East Devon’s MP, Simon Jupp, for inviting me to Ottery St Mary to speak to local farmers.

“As a dairy farmer with four generations of experience in the sector, I know every farmer wants to keep our focus on the opportunity we now have to secure a sustainable, productive, and profitable future for the industry we love.

“We must strengthen the resilience of our businesses whilst also protecting the environment. I am focused on helping farmers bring their businesses into the future through schemes and services designed by working with people who’ll help deliver the produce we need.

“As we make these changes, the level of funding available to farmers remains unchanged. Keeping the country fed is what farming is for and I’d like to thank all the farmers I met in East Devon for all their hard work to produce fantastic food.”

Mr Jupp said: “It was a pleasure to have the Farming Minister in East Devon to speak with local farmers. As East Devon’s MP, I’m working with our farmers to feed back to government about the variety of new funding on offer.

"We discussed the range of support schemes available to farmers, workforce challenges, rising costs and the importance of food security. The roundtable demonstrates this government’s determination to work with Devon’s farmers to help them create new habitats, protect wildlife, and produce the food that feeds our nation. I would like to thank the Minister for his visit and the NFU for their support. I hold regular roundtables with farmers in East Devon and I will continue to do what I can to help our fantastic farmers locally and in Parliament.”

The chair of Devon NFU, Paul Glanvill, said: “We were pleased to have a constructive dialogue about a range of topics with a focus on improving the productivity of Devon farms, while caring for the environment and delivering great food for consumers.”