This Back British Farming Day, Andrew celebrated the British farmers and growers who work through rain and shine to produce the delicious ingredients that underpin the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, food and drink.
The day was an opportunity to champion all that British farmers and growers do for the nation – who has ranked the job farmers do as second only to nurses – including producing food for our three meals a day, caring for the countryside, delivering renewable energy and providing jobs for rural communities.
Farmers in Wiltshire are well known for their produce across many farming sectors, including Wiltshire lardy cake and Wiltshire cured ham.
Wiltshire boasts more than 2,200 holdings over almost 636,000 acres of farmland with just over 6,000 people working on these farms, generating nearly £500 million to Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Bath’s economy.
This does not include the contributions made by allied industries and the wider food and drink sector.
Andrew showed his support by wearing the iconic wheatsheaf pin badge during PMQs and attending the NFU’s Back British Farming Day parliamentary reception.
Andrew said: “British farmers and growers do a fantastic job of providing the nation with high-quality, climate-friendly food alongside being caretakers of our cherished landscapes. I want to say a huge thank you to the farmers and growers in South West Wiltshire for their continued hard work to deliver the UK’s food security and the treasured role that they play in the social fabric of the countryside.
“It is clear the British public value our farmers and growers, with results of a recent NFU survey showing 91% of respondents feel that farming is important to the UK economy. They are valuable contributors to our local and national economy, producing the raw ingredients for the food and drink sector which is worth £148 billion and employing more than 4 million people across the country.
“Despite several years of volatility and having faced into some of the worst flooding on record this past year, farmers and growers have been out in the fields and glasshouses providing food for our tables. I am proud to support Back British Farming Day and will campaign on behalf of our food producers to drive forward a future for them where they can be confident that the public’s support is backed up by policies and are part of the plan for growth.”