'We face in farming a ‘mass extinction’ - and only the fittest will survive'

Tom Martin, who farms arable and sheep in Cambridgeshire, believes the current rate of technological and societal change is presenting a raft of new challenges for today’s farmers.

He said: "In the current environment of severe uncertainty, pressure on prices and the potential withdrawal of Government funds, can we afford not to invest in ourselves?

"We face in farming what evolutionary biologists might term a ‘mass extinction’, and only the fittest will survive. Farming, like rugby, is a ‘thinking man’s game’, so let’s focus on learning, let’s invest in ourselves, and let’s share what we know; we are in this together."