Poll shows farmers want to stay in EU… just

Farmers Weekly readers are divided on whether the UK’s agricultural industry would be better off outside of Europe.
A poll run online over the festive break, which attracted more than 1,000 votes, resulted in a narrow victory for the pro-European group.
A total of 568 readers (51%) voted ‘no’ to the question: “Would farming be better off if Britain left the EU?”
Votes in favour of the statement reached 543 (49%).
The results echo the split industry opinion expressed during the annual debate at the Oxford Farming Conference.
Conference delegates did eventually decide that British agriculture could flourish if it left the European Union but the vote was tight.
Farmers and industry leaders voted 196 to 185 in favour of a motion which said the UK’s farmers could thrive outside the EU on Wednesday evening (4 January).
For more on the Oxford Farming Conference see our dedicated pages.
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