There was a mixed message from delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday when they were asked about their thoughts on Brexit’s impact on UK agriculture.

A series of questions were directed to delegates at the end of the afternoon session through an online poll.

Results from the poll indicated that 60% of delegates thought that Brexit will be bad for UK farming in the next five years, with 40% voting that it would be good.

However, when asked about the impact of Brexit on UK farming after 25 years, 74% voted that it would have a good effect and 26% voted that it would have a bad effect.

Will of the conference

The anonymous poll also asked how delegates voted in the referendum in June 2016. The results showed that 76% voted to remain and 24% voted to leave.

When asked how delegates would vote in the event of a second referendum, three options were presented, with 60% voting to remain, 30% backing Theresa May’s current deal and 10% voting to leave with no withdrawal agreement.

Defra secretary Michael Gove spoke to delegates earlier in the day and, when asked if they were reassured about the future of UK agriculture after the speech, 60% voted that they were more reassured and 40% were less reassured.

More coverage from the Oxford Farming Coverage is available here and will feature in next week’s NI and Scottish print editions.

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