YOUNG farmers and their grasp of new technology hold the key to the future of British agriculture, the Defra minister Lord De Mauley has told a high profile conference in Eden.

Around 150 budding farm entrepreneurs from all over the UK attended the Fertile Minds event at Rheged, Penrith, where they heard the natural environment minister declare that their ability to innovate was vital if British farming was to remain competitive.

“Every industry needs new entrants with fresh ideas to be innovative and competitive and farming is no exception," said Lord De Mauley. "My ambition is that industry and government do everything possible to support farmers, both young and old.

“There’s no doubt the next generation will be vital in grabbing the opportunity new technology and innovation can bring and driving forward change so that this industry remains competitive and profitable.

“What’s more, we need to make sure we have new talent entering agriculture and the right skills in place so farming remains fit for the future."

He said £160m was being invested by the Government in an Agri-Tech strategy to help young farmers to innovate.

"Technology is going to be vital in helping the next generation farm the land. For example, one of the Agri-Tech funded projects has developed a tractor mounted scanner to allow farmers to decide precisely how much fertiliser their crops need.

"It’s technology like this that will help farmers make more informed decisions and aid competitiveness,” he added.

The Fertile Minds conference was sponsored by Tesco and organised by The Farmers Weekly.