Ms Spelman admitted that the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy budget, which distributes farming subsidies, would have to be smaller, due to the economic challenges across the continent.

Speaking to delegates at the two-day conference, NFU president Peter Kendall said: “PwC now talk about ‘rolling uncertainty’ in relation to the Euro crisis.

“That sums up how things are across the board for all of us farmers. The £100 billion food and farming industry can help kick start our economic recovery.

“And we need growth as far as we can see into the future, to provide us with long-term food security.”

Mr Kendall praised the minister for moving in the “right direction” by giving the go-ahead to the controversial culls in a bid to tackle tuberculosis in cattle, which can contract the disease from the wild animals.

The NFU president commended the Government’s work on “unblocking the planning system, probably the single most frustrating process farmers experience.”

But added: “I continue to hear of suppliers being squeezed by supermarkets in a way which would really shock consumers.

“Retailers are all over Number 10 and the business department, arguing that a groceries adjudicator is anti-business.

“I say not having an adjudicator is anti-business.”

He added that the Government had not “covered itself in glory in the way it managed feed-in-tariffs”, but a combination of the market, the benefits of the technology and financial incentives, had led to a massive uptake of solar power on Britain’s farms.