Brexit is going to happen –and both the UK and the EU must make the best of it!

That was the message to Semex delegates from Tom Tynan, a key member of EU farmer commissioner Phil Hogan’s cabinet, who said that getting the best deal on trade would be in the interests of both the UK and Europe.

“The UK needs Europe and Europe needs the UK. Europe has a positive balance of €20 billion, £18billion worth of trade with the UK and a workable deal is very important," said Mr Tynan. “Anyone who says the UK is not important to the EU economy is living in cloud cuckoo land."

Questioned where agriculture would rate in the broader discussions, Mr Tynan said that commissioner Hogan was keen to push the wider picture: “While farming and food accounts for 0.7% of GDP in the UK, a huge number of people are employed in the sector. And at the negotiating level commissioner Hogan will be centre stage.”

With regard to the dairy sector, Mr Tynan said that the UK was the second biggest importer of dairy products after China, importing more than €4.5 billion worth of processed products.

And on the latest round of CAP reforms he said that the UK – which had always been at the forefront in promoting environmental measures – would have been “very happy” with both the increased focus on this area and the moves to tailor schemes more closely to member states’ distinct requirements.

Gail Souter, the English NFU’s chief EU withdrawal adviser, said it was vital that the UK had the best access to EU markets: “Trade must be on a level-playing field with the same conditions applying to imports as UK production. Farming and food has to feature from day one in trade talks, with full impact assessments undertaken,” she stressed.

With labour in the farming chain being so vital, she also stated that the government had to give a commitment to securing sufficient numbers of permanent and seasonal workers after Brexit.