Trust in British farmers remains high with a survey for the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board showing over 60% of consumers feel positive or somewhat positive towards British agriculture, which is an improvement on 2020.

It’s good news and something I think we can capitalise on with a Buy British approach that highlights the high welfare, sustainability and environmental benefits of our fabulous home-grown and home-reared produce.

We know consumers want to buy the top-quality food that our farmers take pride in producing to our most rigorous animal welfare and environmental standards.

A new food labelling scheme being shaped by the UK Government can play a key role in getting the message to consumers, making British produce easier to select from the shelves and in supermarket freezer aisles.

I think it would be wonderful if, across the UK as a whole, families could spot at a glance what’s British - perhaps with the Union flag as an obvious symbol – and have at their fingertips trusted and detailed information about what they are buying.

The UK Government is about to start a consultation on food labelling, to make the country of origin clearer on products, plus more detail about things such as welfare standards.

We are also consulting on how to highlight when imported products do not meet UK welfare standards and help ensure food – produced to the UK’s high standards – is consistently labelled.

To make labels across Britain uniform, so that consumers and producers can enjoy the same benefits from Shetland to Scilly, we need the Scottish Government to come aboard.

Control of agriculture in Scotland sits with Holyrood, and we in the UK Government are ever mindful of respecting the devolution settlement.

I am delighted to be addressing the NFUS AGM and the point I will be making there is that with NFUS having already expressed strong support for labelling which boosts domestic produce, I hope the Scottish Government will join us.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to support farmers and consumers from farm to fork, and the UK Government wants to boost food security by increasing the amount of domestic produce we consume.

We’ve already tackled issues such as making clearer the origins of ingredients, and now making sure high-quality British food and drink stands head and shoulders above the crowd is part of our delivery too.

I am confident industry, and the public will welcome our initiative, and I hope the Scottish Government will realise its value too.