LIZ Truss, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, visited Devon recently to back British beef farmers who support staying in Europe.

The Secretary of State met key supporters of Britain Stronger In Europe, the cross-party campaign for Britain to vote to remain in the EU, at Fortescue Farm in Thorverton.?Fortescue Farm is home to Jilly Greed, founder of Ladies in Beef, who is the fourth generation of her family to farm at Thorverton.

Jilly welcomed Ms Truss to the farm and took the chance to discuss what a "Brexit" would mean for farmers like herself.

Ms Truss was able to see Jilly’s suckler cow herd grazing on the banks of the river Exe and also met her son George, who is now running the farm alongside Jilly and her husband Edwin.

Environment Secretary Liz Truss said: "We’re known for our fantastic British beef and exports to our EU neighbours are worth more than £316 million to farmers just like Jilly.

“No non EU country has unlimited tariff free access to the Single Market and I don’t want our farmers and businesses to lose out on that if we leave the EU.

“Vote Leave cannot guarantee what trade deal Britain could secure on beef or anything else, they want to put the livelihoods of our farmers at risk on a dangerous gamble.

"We have to safeguard the British food and farming industries and that is only possible by being in Europe.”

Jilly Greed, founder of Ladies in Beef, said: “Farms and food businesses need stability to enterprise and invest as well as maintain and generate new jobs.

“If we come out of Europe there will be a significant period of deep long lasting pain. Re-negotiating export agreements critical to our suckler beef and lamb industries will take decades, creating massive instability.

“This will impact on our food security and on our most cherished pastoral landscapes and high moors where livestock farming will be completely unsustainable. Farming is a very long game and it’s for future farming generations that we must safeguard these industries by being in a reformed Europe, continuing to champion the cornerstones of collaboration and free trade.”