Upland farmers in Ceredigion met with their MP Ben Lake at an on-farm meeting near Talybont in the north of the county, and took the opportunity to raise a number of issues of concern with him.

The meeting was kindly hosted by Dylan Morgan and family at Alltgoch, a hill and upland farming enterprise.

The farm is home to a suckler herd of Welsh black cattle as well as Welsh, Lleyn and Texel sheep, and is enrolled in the Glastir Advance scheme.

Richard Tudor, chair of NFU Cymru’s LFA board, who was present at the meeting, said: “It was really useful to be able to meet with Ben, particularly as he has recently taken on the role of vice-chair of Westminster’s All Party Parliamentary Group on hill farming.

“As we know, around 80 per cent of Wales is less favoured area, and so it is very fitting that Ben has taken on this role.

“Much of what the future holds for our sector will now depend on what sort of Brexit we have.

“A bad Brexit, in which the UK leaves the EU without a trade agreement and our exports to the EU are subject to tariffs, could see swathes of rural Wales devastated as hill and upland beef and sheep enterprises cease to be viable.

“This would in turn have a significant knock-on-effect on wider rural communities and the Welsh language.”

Mr Tudor added: “We very much need stability at this very uncertain time, and we need to ensure that certain politicians, who made promises before the referendum that Wales would not lose out on a penny of funding as a result of Brexit, are held to those promises. When it comes to agriculture, this means that the UK Government must deliver the same level of funding for Welsh Agriculture, as we currently receive from the EU.”

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday