Much of what we all love about where we live was on display at the Devon County Show at Westpoint last week.

It was a great opportunity to catch up with farmers and growers from Yarcombe to Whimple about how their businesses are faring.

The food and farming sector is facing a raft of changes. We are using the opportunity to move away from EU’s bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy towards a new system of rural payments.

There are offers for all farm types. Almost one third of British farm holdings are now in a new scheme. This summer, the Sustainable Farming Incentive will be beefed up to make payments for actions on nutrient, pest, and hedgerow management.

I meet regularly with local farmers by holding regular farming roundtables across East Devon. The feedback I gather from these events is shared with the government. I had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister last week to discuss the issues raised in my most recent roundtable with the Rural Payments Agency and Defra in Sidford. I told the Prime Minister about the need to relentlessly focus on food security, reduce red tape, and improve access to advice, funding & support.

I know local farmers need access to short-term skilled labour from abroad when certain roles cannot be filled by advertising domestically. I have banged on about this on the floor of Parliament and it was good to hear the Prime Minister announce that the number of seasonal workers for horticulture available in 2024 will again be 45,000, plus 2,000 for poultry.

The dairy sector regulations will be laid in Parliament this year to ensure a fairer supply chain and price at the gate, which is some welcome news for Devon's dairy farmers.

Keeping the country fed is what farming is for. And farmers want to produce that food – not fill out endless forms. From our lush pastures with Red Ruby cattle to our orchards keeping the West Country’s great cider-making tradition alive, we must continue to support what we saw in all its glory at the Devon County Show.