'Ask your butcher where your meat is coming from'

Beef farmer Nellie Budd says buying local is key to ensuring the future of British farming

A Surrey beef farmer says it is up to everyone to ask their butcher or their grocer where their food is coming from.

Nellie Budd, from Brockham, says buying local might be slightly more expensive but it helps to secure the future of British farms and farming.

Ms Budd spoke to BBC Radio Surrey on the 10th anniversary of Back British Farming Day - a campaign day by the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

The NFU said the day was an opportunity for the public and politicians to show their support for farmers and growers.

"We all really need to think about where our food is coming from, be it our apples to our vegetables, to our pasta and our bread, to the meat that's on our plate," said Ms Budd.

"If we can find small producers it might be slightly more expensive but in the long run you get so much more out of it."

Ms Budd says the market for calves in unpredictable

But local does not just mean buying within Surrey, it may mean sourcing your food from slightly further afield, Ms Budd explained.

"Local could be as local as East Anglia, you need to buy from where the soil works the best," she said.

"We need to make the most of the farmers that know what they're doing in their area, everyone has their expertise."

On the future of her business, Ms Budd said one of the biggest issues was market insecurity.

"With calves, we're at a point where we don't know what's going to happen to the market," she said.

"Where is it going to be? We could get into contracts but they can hold you back. The whole point of farming is freedom."

The best way to understand the issues facing the industry, Ms Budd says, is for people to actually visit the farms from which they buy their food.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, said Back British Farming Day was an "excellent opportunity to celebrate the nation's farmers".

"As I step into this role, I'm determined to work hand-in-hand with our nation's farmers to build a fairer, more sustainable, and more innovative farming sector – because food security is national security," she added.