Great Yorkshire Show 2025: Defra Minister dodges questions over support for farmers as he attends Great Yorkshire Show

The minister, who arrived at the agricultural showcase later than expected after battling through traffic, was accompanied by Yorkshire Agricultural Society chief executive Allister Nixon as he walked passed waiting photographers and reporters.

When asked what he was doing to help struggling farmers, Mr Zeichner said the Government was putting "record amounts of money into farming, more money than ever before".

He was then asked if farmers were getting a fair deal and if he knew the price of a pint of milk.

Mr Zeichner said: "Of course I know the price of a pint of milk. In some places it is over £1 and 90p in others. But we want to make sure farmers get a proper reward, which is why we're amending the system of dairy contracts."

He added food security was a priority for the Prime Minister.

Also attending the show, NFU president Tom Bradshaw, said Government ministers needed to explain their rationale for dismissing its "clawback" proposal to ease the impact of inheritance tax changes on people who have no ability to plan farm succession.

He added ministers also needed to reveal their thoughts on enabling farmers to cope with increasingly frequent extreme weather.

The NFU President said weather patterns were "incredibly worrying" for farmers, particularly as some farmers had recently seen their summer abstraction licences removed without warning. He said without a consistent policy framework it was difficult for farmers to develop resilient systems.

Calling for farmers to be given permitted development rights to create reservoirs on their land, he said: "Last year saw the wettest spring on record. Now this is the driest start to the year we've seen. That volatility is becoming very real.

“Harvests are compromised, straw becomes short, and farmers start to ask 'have we got enough feed'? That starts to show the importance of this dry weather we're having.

“We need the Government and Environment Agency to recognise that water is a crucial part of food production. Planning for reservoir systems is too complex. This shouldn't be beyond the wit of the planning system."

Mr Bradshaw said farmers were desperate for clarity on the revised Sustainable Farming Incentive and Higher Level Stewardship schemes. He said: "It's the lack of certainty, the policy landscape at the moment is so blurred that I don't think many farmers know which direction they are shooting in."

During a tour of the 250-acre showground Mr Zeichner held talks with Alicia Chiver, chief executive of charity RABI, which provides farmers with mental health and wellbeing support, as well as financial, emotional and practical help.

Ms Chiver said: "Where we see positivity is the setting up of some new teams within Defra that are much more focused around the work that we are doing of supporting the person and their wellbeing.

“There does seem to be some acknoledgement from the minister that there are a lot of stresses that are impacting farming people now and whilst we can't can't change all of those, we do need to be the first step in making change is being aware of the issues."