Today is #backbritishfarming Day.
A day to celebrate our farmers and growers and to thank them for the food and drink that they provide to us.
Here in the Forest of Dean, we have some superb food and drink providers as well as the globally recognised agricultural training facility at Hartpury University and Hartpury College.
I am pictured here welcoming Ribena to Parliament. This popular soft-drink is made at the Royal Forest of Dean Factory in Coleford, and uses blackcurrants from some of the many farmers across the constituency.
The UK Government is backing British Farming. The Food and Farming Secretary Thérèse Coffey has today provided a boost to British farmers with a package of measures to help people “buy British” and provide farmers with the cashflow they need to invest in their businesses.
Building on the commitment to keep producing 60% of the food we consume here in the UK, and providing a boost to the UK’s £127 billion food and farming sector, the Food and Farming Secretary has backed calls for industry-led action to signpost customers to ‘buy British’ when they shop online and will support campaigns to endorse the taste and quality of home-grown meat and dairy products.
The government has also confirmed that farmers producing sustainable British food under our environmental land management schemes will be able to use them to help meet public procurement standards, benefiting our British farmers and allowing the public sector to benefit from more excellent British food.
To ensure British produce is enjoyed both at home and around the world, the government has started the recruitment drive appointment of five extra agri-food attaches to unlock new trading markets, adding a further boost to the UK’s food and drink exports which bring £24 billion to the British economy.
It’s #BackBritishFarmingDay!
We're celebrating our farmers who work tirelessly all year round to produce world-renowned, high-quality produce 🚜
It's been great to hear from farmers this agricultural show season, about how we can best respond to the challenges they face. pic.twitter.com/Sy8skQzVBz
— Defra UK (@DefraGovUK) September 13, 2023
