A NEW survey shows farmers' confidence in the next three years has suffered a huge fall because of Brexit.

Meurig Raymond, NFU president, described the 18-point decline as "unnerving" as, in the past, it has always been fairly resilient and optimistic.

He said: "Farmer confidence is absolutely critical to the future of a profitable and productive food and farming sector. In such a period of uncertainty politically, we need politicians to fully understand the impact this lack of clarity is having economically.

"The outlook from farmers is positive for the next 12 months due to the weak sterling, but we all know farming businesses are long-term and cannot rely on currency fluctuations."

Mr Raymond said the new Government would need to take firm action to maximize the future potential of British food and farming.

"We need a competent and reliable workforce, a fit for purpose domestic agricultural policy and the right trade deals," he said. "To address this debilitating uncertainty, they need to give the industry as many assurances as possible."

The survey showed farmers were nearly twice as likely to be decreasing investment (20.1 per cent) as a result of the EU referendum than increasing investment (10.7 per cent) in the next 12 months.

Mr Raymond said: "With only ten per cent willing to increase investment in their business, it does not paint a pretty picture for the progressive industry that we are striving to be. But this is exactly why we’ll be working closely with the newly-elected team at Defra, to ensure that investment is a key part of a new domestic agricultural policy."