The show is set to take place at Westpoint near Exeter from 16 to 19 May and farming leaders, who will be at the event with senior officeholders including NFU President Tom Bradshaw, are calling for firm commitment to family farms in the county after it was revealed by the NFU's Farmer Confidence Survey that confidence levels in the industry were at their lowest level since 2010.
Key role of food production
Food production in Devon plays a key role in supporting more than 20,000 jobs, managing more than 1.2 million acres of farmland and contributing nearly £870 million to the county’s economy.
Its stunning landscape, much of which has been farmed for generations, also generates significant income, which researchers from Visit Devon value at £2.5 billion a year.
NFU South regional director Mel Squires said: “Devon heavily relies on the farming community to produce great-tasting sustainable food as well as benefiting the environment and boosting the local rural communities and the economy all year round.
Ensuring farming businesses thrive
“To see the dedication our farmers and growers continue to demonstrate after what has been an unprecedented and challenging time of wet weather, with the addition of ongoing labour shortages and rising production costs, is truly remarkable.
“I’m looking forward to speaking with them at the Devon County Show about what more we can do to ensure they are supported both now and in the future, so they, their families and their farming businesses thrive.
“As of 2022, the total value of crops harvested in Devon was over £196 million and the total value of livestock produced was over £1,043 million, and this is all thanks to the hard work of the county’s farmers, growers and their families.”
Mel Squires, NFU South regional director
“The NFU has always pushed for more commitment from the government to secure a more resilient and sustainable future for our farming families and with a General Election on the horizon, it has been never been more important to have our members’ voices heard.”
High quality, healthy food
Devon county NFU chair Paul Glanvill said: “As a farmer in Devon, I am proud to produce high quality, healthy food for people to eat and enjoy and we are all committed to the highest standards of food production, animal welfare, and we are also enhancing the farmed environment.
“Our farms are helping to drive sustainability; we make a fundamental contribution to our economy and we can also offer many solutions to the climate change challenge.
“It has been an extremely challenging time for farmers here in Devon with the wet weather having a real financial impact and while there has been some support on offer from government, we still need to see action in other areas including on British food security.
“I’m thankful for how the general public have continued to show their support and appreciation for what we do and now we need to see our politicians from all parties value and back the production of home-grown food and our family businesses.”
Valuable role of tourism
While the focus for Devon farm businesses is food production, they also have a valuable role to play for the environment and countryside and people’s enjoyment of our rural areas.
Sally Everton from Visit Devon said: “What we do know from our research and from Visit Britain is visitors come to Devon for our two coastlines and our beautiful rolling countryside, and for clean fresh air.
“We work closely with many organisations across Devon promoting our countryside, our two national parks and farm accommodation and visits.”
Figures from the Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership also reveal Devon welcomes 35.3 million visitors annually, helping to keep 63,500 local people employed in roles supporting tourism.
Safeguarding home grown food
A Farm to Fork Summit was held at Number 10 on 14 May at which the Prime Minister announced some positive measures, especially around food security and horticulture.
In its General Election manifesto, the NFU has provided solutions that political parties can adopt which would work to reverse this breakdown in farmer confidence and help safeguard homegrown food production