One of the nation's leading farmers was at the Royal Norfolk Show to help raise important industry issues ahead of next week's General Election.

Rachel Hallos, vice president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) joined Norfolk farmers to push for food and farming to be a key priority for all political parties.

During her first visit to the show Mrs Hallos, an upland farmer from West Yorkshire, spoke with parliamentary candidates about the "urgent need" for the next government to help farmers to deliver food security.

She said: “It has been a fantastic experience to be here at the Royal Norfolk Show, to meet our hard-working farming members and staff and to discuss the key farming issues in this county.

“It has been great also to meet members of the public and to hear so many positive comments from them about farmers and the great work they do.

“The rural vote will be key in this general election and all political parties need to recognise this public support for farmers here in Norfolk and across Britain.”

Mrs Hallos said agriculture is a "vital industry in Norfolk", adding that farmers here have been doing "fantastic work in challenging circumstances" - both to provide food and protect the Norfolk countryside.

“They need political support to continue this good work and to deliver national food security," she said. “We have seen how the extreme weather and over-reliance on imports have led to empty supermarket shelves and this is a worrying situation.  

“The single most vital thing farming needs is an agricultural budget.

"This isn’t just ‘money for farmers’, it’s the funding which helps the sector transition away from the old EU system, allows farm businesses to invest for the future and makes governments’ aims around sustainable food production, food security, the environment and net zero possible.

"Here is Norfolk, farming provides nearly 12,000 jobs and plays a major role in the £1.4bn contribution farming makes to the economy in East Anglia.

"Enabling Norfolk’s farming industry to thrive is hugely important to the entire county and region."