People heading to this weekend’s Countryside Live event in Harrogate will have the chance to back a charter calling for the government, retailers, caterers, chefs and the public to Back British Farming.
More than 2,000 people have already backed the charter and now families enjoying the autumn celebration of local food and farming, staged annually by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, will have the chance to do the same when they visit the NFU’s Let’s Talk Farming Roadshow located outside the Forestry Pavilion.
“Starkly, our current self-sufficiency rate means that if all the food produced in Britain in a year was stored and eaten from January 1 it would run out in mid-August,” said NFU regional director Richard Pearson.
“We know the public wants access to more home-produced food and our farmers are up for the challenge of producing it. This charter is designed to articulate that desire and demonstrate the support for British farmers.”
As well as taking the charter round the country, the NFU Roadshow is a one-stop-shop for facts and figures, recipes, and general information on food and farming. While at Countryside Live it will also give people the chance to try their hand at milking Annabelle the model cow, or enjoy a lively presentation by Roadshow host, Lancashire farmer Johnny Ball.
Recipe books, children’s activity books and other giveaways are also on offer throughout the weekend.