Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots has visited the farm of UFU President, Mr Victor Chestnutt, to see for some of the range of positive environmental measures that have been put in place.

The UFU President was delighted to host the visit of the Minister on his farm just outside Bushmills, along with Vice Presidents David Brown and William Irvine.

Victor, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of incorporating environmental measures into his farm business and is a member of his local Environmental Business Development Group facilitated by CAFRE said: "Stock comes first on this farm, but there is always something that can be done to address the environmental challenges facing all of us within the farming industry. We've put in a range of measures to contribute to meeting these challenges, including solar panels, heat exchangers and low emission slurry spreading. These can all help to reduce costs, but other important measures such as planting trees, hedges and protecting water quality come at a price and farmers need to be adequately and flexibly supported to deliver these."

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Minister Poots said: "I'd like to thank Victor and his family for their kind invitation. It’s really encouraging to see the impressive range of measures he has taken with support from DAERA schemes such as the Small Woodland Grant Scheme, the Environmental Farming Scheme and the Farm Business Improvement Scheme. The fact that he has involved younger members of the family to help plant the trees will provide them with a lasting environmental legacy as well as fond memories in years to come."