NFU deputy president Minette Batters will be on a mission when she attends Northumberland County Show for the first time on Monday.

For as one of the union’s top team responsible for representing English farmers during the Brexit negotiations, she is keen to meet as many local farmers as possible to find out what they regard as the priorities going forward.

“I am determined that British farmers should be the suppliers of choice for retailers, food service outlets, pubs, restaurants and, of course, the public,” she said. “This will be especially important as we begin the process of leaving the EU.

“We need a thriving domestic market and know that people are really keen to support British food production.

“The challenge is to make sure they get the opportunity everywhere they go, and this will be crucial for the future of our family farms across Northumberland.”

Farmers are invited to attend the NFU stand, opposite the sheep lines, from 1pm onwards on Monday for tea, scones and that chat.

A Wiltshire beef farmer herself, Minette was the first woman to be elected to NFU office, in 2014.

Having grown up on a farm where there was no succession tenancy available, it wasn’t until 1998 that she was able to secure a long-term farm business tenancy.

Since then she has built a business specialising in selling premium store cattle from scratch – she now has more than 300 head of stock, with a herd of pedigree Hereford cattle running alongside 100 Simmental cross suckler cows.

She has also diversified into horse livery, hosting wedding and corporate events and running a catering business using home grown produce, employing two full-time and up to 20 part-time staff along the way.

Minette first came to prominence as a co-founder of the “Ladies in Beef’” and the “Great British Beef Week” campaigns.