Environment Secretary George Eustice had more than one good reason to visit the Devon County Show this year — not only was he announcing further funding for research projects to boost profit in farming whilst helping to improve the environment he was also supporting his brother Giles and his breed of champion pigs.

Mr Eustice who was special guest at the show last year as it made its comeback after covid restrictions eased was delighted to see Giles win the British Lop breed champion prize with Bezuryell Actress 428., one of the pigs from his Trevaskis Farm herd near Hayle in Cornwall.

The minister later confirmed to NFU members that following a commitment to spend £270-million on research and development in the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2029, some £12.5million would be made available to farmers, growers, businesses and academics to collaborate on projects that seek to improve the efficiency and sustainability of farm-based protein production, including protein crops like beans and peas and traditional livestock production, in order to help boost domestic production of healthy and sustainable food.

The Environment Secretary also showcased an example of innovative technology that is helping farmers capture the methane from slurry stores and turn it into biomethane, creating an additional income stream for farmers.