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Matthew Donald, 30, from Northallerton in North Yorkshire, runs a farrow to finish pig unit, alongside two broiler breeder farms producing fertile hatching eggs for the broiler industry.

Dan Hawes, 26, is based in Mereworth, Kent. He is an arable turned fruit farmer, growing strawberries and blackberries as part of a larger farming business.

Rachael Wood, 22, grew up on a beef and arable farm in Kinross-shire. She currently works in the rural payments and inspections division for the Scottish Government and is the SAYFC Fife and Kinross District Secretary.

The shutdown at Shanghai harbour due to Covid-19 is having a major impact on global agricultural trade. By Bruce Jobson

Fears are growing that the Shanghai Covid lockdown could be set to hit UK agricultural supply chains.

INCREASED sales at farm shops since the start of the pandemic means the industry now generates £1.4 billion in sales nationally and employs 25,000 people.

We are living in an ‘age of economic uncertainty’ that could see things get worse for farmers before they get better, a leading economist has warned.

Defra’s plan to help ease the pig backlog must be turned into reality without delay to provide ‘desperate farmers with some hope of a viable future’.

Pig producers frustrated by the Government’s inaction to tackle the ongoing crisis in the sector have taken to Defra’s front door in York to call for solutions.

Lamb is making a resurgence among consumers, with sales of roasting joints soaring during the last two festive periods.