FARMERS had to log on for this year's National Farmers Union annual conference which was held virtually because of Covid restrictions.

Delegates who tuned in were treated to speeches from some of the UK’s key political personnel: Defra secretary George Eustice, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and international trade secretary Liz Truss.

In her opening speech, farm leader Minette Batters called on the government to invest in UK agriculture, highlighting the huge contribution it makes to the national economy.

Investment in farming would have massive benefits to the whole country, not just food production, Ms Batters said.

An NFU report, ‘Levelling up rural Britain’, launched to coincide with the conference on Tuesday, highlights how British farming and rural Britain can provide the solution to many of the challenges the nation faces by driving sustainable food production and pioneering food policy that produces carbon-neutral food.

It also showcases how rural Britain is uniquely placed to help the recovery of the nation from Covid-19; delivering physical and mental health through the farmed landscape, which has been a lifeline for so many during lockdown, and supporting the return to whole-food cooking with nutritious, sustainable and affordable British food.

“If the past 12 months has taught us one thing, it’s that we are all in this together — and a country which levels up everyone, everywhere, is a stronger country,” said Ms Batters.

“Levelling up Britain is not just a north and south issue. It is also a rural and urban issue. We need to enable collaborative green growth to level up rural Britain, providing the economic solutions to a truly one nation UK."

Mr Eustice set out more detail, at the conference, about 2022 Sustainable Farming Incentive.

A pilot will take place in autumn this year to ‘help with implementation’ of the early version of the scheme, though participating farmers will be paid on an income foregone basis.

Farmers participating in the pilot will be able to select from an initial set of eight standards based on specific features such as soil, grassland, hedgerows, waterbodies or woodland.

Each standard contains several actions which farmers can apply to their own farms in order to receive payment.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has pledged to forge a new relationship with British farmers – and protect the UK’s high food standards.

In the first speech by a Labour leader to NFU Conference since 2008, Sir Keir promised to bring the Labour Party closer to Britain’s farming communities.