Shortly before Christmas, Defra secretary of state Margaret Beckett paid a visit to the Yorkshire farm of National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill.

During the visit Gill demonstrated the high level of capital investment required to run a modern farming enterprise, as well as highlighting the enormous burden of paperwork faced by farmers complying with a variety of regulations from Europe and national government.

He also demonstrated his Easingwold farm's use of precision technology, such as its Global Positioning System which uses satellites to ensure optimum use of farm inputs such as fertilisers by giving an accurate picture of field conditions.

Gill said: 'The secretary of state's visit was an excellent opportunity for me to show her around a working farm and explain the many issues that farmer and growers face each day from tending livestock to form filling. It enabled us to put into context the vast range of subjects we talked about relating to farm policy.' At the meeting, Gill and Beckett also talked about the implications of the European Commission's proposals on the forthcoming World Trade Organisation negotiations on agriculture, and the impact of the recent Copenhagen Summit on EU enlargement as well as the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy.