It was great to meet Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers Union, to discuss the importance of agriculture to the economy and what more the Government can do to support farmers.

More than 32,000 people work in the agricultural sector across the North West and nearly 100,000 hectares is farmed across the region.

It is vital for these farmers, their families and the communities they serve that people are aware of and able to engage with the food and farming industry, which is why I’ve been supportive of an Agriculture GCSE in our schools, for example.

The NFU will also be stepping up its work educating young people about the importance of food and farming with its new ‘Farmvention’ programme.

The initiative will launch in September and will offer schoolchildren the opportunity to design tractors and farms of the future as well as giving schools the chance to win fully funded day trips to farms.