THE Government must create a post-Brexit agricultural policy that helps farmers drive their businesses forward.

Guy Poskitt, NFU board member and former Farmers Weekly Farmer of the Year, was addressing the first Rix Petroleum Agricultural Open Day at Driffield Showground.

He said Brexit could bring benefits including less red tape, higher prices and free from EU rule. But the EU remained British farming’s biggest export customer and the Government must achieve a free trade deal.

The East Yorkshire farmer grows vegetables and potatoes on 6,000 acres of owned, rented and shared land. He started the business more than 40 years ago and now employs nearly 300 people.

He told the 60-strong audience: "Nobody really knows what Brexit means for us in the future or what the Government is going to deliver for us. The only thing we do know is we’re coming out.

"So, what about funding? What about labour? What about trade and what about plant health? These are all really important challenges we’ve got in front of us."

Mr Poskitt said farmers need to be profitable, productive and progressive to drive their businesses forward – he thought funding would be cut beyond 2020.

"Currently, £2.3bn in BPS (Basic Payment Scheme) is paid with a total of £3.2bn through Countryside Stewardship," he said.

"Will this continue? I would like to think so as it’s so important to agriculture, but there is no doubt the mechanism will change and the values may reduce.

"What I would like to see is that we get less funding, but more opportunities for funding to grow our businesses. We all want to take agriculture to a place where we no longer need support because I don’t think any farmer is proud of the fact they get support, but to get from A to B, sometimes you need a lot of funding."

Brexit was a great opportunity to strengthen British farming’s brand abroad.

Ireland was a massive exporter. "They’ve promoted the brand of Irish – Irish butter, Irish milk, Irish beef – I think it is a big opportunity for us to do the same," he said.

Mr Poskitt said migrant workers were vital to agriculture, horticulture and many other sectors. He also called on the Government to deliver a pesticides framework ready for Brexit – the industry needs the right chemistry and research in place.

"There’s a lot of noise about banning glyphosate in Europe," he said. "If it gets banned, and we’re out of Europe, will we be able to use glyphosate if we’re going to export to Europe? Probably not. We need a commonsense approach."

Looking at the controversial three-crop rule, he said the UK had plenty of diversity without bringing in that rule. "All it does is make an efficient farm inefficient," he said.