Parties vye for support of the nation's farmers

In what could be his last appearance at the conference as Defra secretary, Hilary Benn laid out his achievements over the past three years and revealed a new voluntary code on labelling that he hoped would put British farmers on a level playing field.

Tesco and Asda have agreed to accurately label their pork products to reflect where the meat was farmed, winning praise from the nation's pig industry.

Mr Benn also gave hope to the country's chicken farmers, raising the prospect of a ban on the importation of eggs from countries which use cage systems.

This comes ahead of the phasing out of cage systems in the UK which is due to be completed by 2012.

However, Mr Benn did face criticism for his department's continuing refusal to order a badger cull to stem the spread of Bovine TB, insisting a vaccination programme was the way forward.

Eye-catching initiatives were announced by the Tories too, with shadow Defra minister Nick Herbert pledging to prohibit development of high grade one and two agricultural land – a regulation that would cover more than a fifth of the country's farmland.

"Despite its importance to our food security, the protection of our best farmland has been downgraded and the Government has over-ridden councils who have sought to keep in place local protection of this valuable asset," he said.

He also pledged to commit to a review of all bureaucracy and red tape effecting farmers within three months of taking office and signalled his intent to revamp the Rural Payments Agency by putting the farming minister in charge of the organisation.

The Liberal Democrats were also out to impress, with its shadow Defra minister Tim Farron pledging to appoint an Ofcom-style regulator to police the supermarket industry and ensure a fair deal for farmers when dealing with big retailers.

The supermarket ombudsman, due to come into existence later this year, would no go far enough, Mr Farron said. He also promised reform of the RPA in light of recent problems.

Within the NFU itself there was electioneering as the key seats within the union's hierarchy were contested. President Peter Kendall was comfortably re-elected as was deputy president Meurig Raymond.

Yorkshire hopefuls Paul Temple and Rosey Dunn both proved unsuccessful in their bids to become vice-president, losing out to dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones.