'Back British Farming' urges Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart

Upper Bann MP and DUP Defra spokesperson, Carla Lockhart, joined with MPs from across the UK to mark ‘Back British Farming’ Day in Westminster.
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The NFU held the seventh annual Back British Farming Day on 2 November.

Back British Farming Day is a chance to celebrate all the great things about the industry with politicians, members and the public.

As in previous years, MPs were asked to wear the iconic wheatsheaf lapel pin badge to show their support for British farming.The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, and senior politicians have all shown their support either in the House of Commons chamber or on social media.

Jim Shannon MP, Carla Lockhart MP, David Brown UFU, Alexander Kinnear UFUJim Shannon MP, Carla Lockhart MP, David Brown UFU, Alexander Kinnear UFU
Jim Shannon MP, Carla Lockhart MP, David Brown UFU, Alexander Kinnear UFU

The government was urged to ensure future financial support was directed primarily towards food production.

Speaking after the event, DUP MP Ms Lockhart said: “Our farmers are the guardians of our countryside, and take this role very seriously.

"The developments in terms of soil and land management, and farming practices, in my lifetime have been transformational.

"Farmers are playing a key role in ensuring the farmland and environment that is passed to the next generation is in better condition than what they inherited.”

She continued: “Of course, whilst this component of farming is important, we must never lose focus that the primary purpose of farming is food production. We have world leading standards here in the UK, in terms of animal welfare, environment and overall production standards.

"From farm to fork we have the assurances needed to give the consumer the utmost confidence in British food.

“I urge the government to continue to support food production,” Ms Lockhart said.

"Our farmers are facing record input costs, and interest rates that have not been seen for some time.

"We also see the increasing need for domestic food security.

"The answer to that is to back our British farmers, both in terms of financial support from Government, but also by buying British,” the Upper Bann MP ended.

The hashtag #BackBritishFarmingDay has reached over six million people with farmers and growers joining in on social media.