BrFarmer urges people to back stand-alone Britain

That was the message this week from Muncaster tenant farmer and Cumbria delegate to the National Union of Farmers, Alistair Mackintosh.

Alistair has run his farm on the Muncaster estate for 41 years, running "a few" cattle and growing some crops.

But as well as that, he has looked after the welfare of other Cumbrian farmers in his position on the NUF - and ensures that Cumbrian farmers get a fair deal!

He did not personally vote for Brexit but he know many farmers who did, mainly because they thought they would have more freedom and less of the restrictions imposed on them by the EU.

"I think some were slightly naive and some of the promises made in the political campaign - well I think maybe some of the politicians were not telling the 100 percent truth."

He said the greatest challenge facing farmers outside the EU is the decreasing subsidies they will receive.

"These subsidies protected the consumer. Now farmers will face competition form overseas. I am not talking about chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef. I don't think that will happen. But I do think that, as our subsidies reduce and our production costs increase, our meat will rise in cost and we will be in competition with producers whose standards are similar to ours - places like New Zealand and Australia."

He said the pandemic has cushioned the industry from the results of Brexit because of the amount of "in-home" dining with pubs and restaurants closing. But once restrictions are lifted and everything is back to normal, some of the effects will start being felt.

He recalled the horror of the Foot and Mouth epidemic nearly 20 years ago, the toll it took and the struggle to get back to production.

"We were lucky that we were not hit but even for us, working away through all the restrictions was difficult."

Alistair has two sons - Alistair Jnr who farms with him and Cameron, a shearer.

For their generation and for today's farmers the message is clear: "Buy British!"