Minette Batters was the first woman to be elected President of the National Farmers’ Union in 113yrs. She’s represented the interests of over 46,000 farming businesses across England and Wales through unprecedented times, navigating the challenges of Brexit, Covid 19 and the war in Ukraine. During this time she worked with four Prime Ministers – three of them in one year and six Defra secretaries of State. She stood down from the post in February 2024. Campaigning about the importance of British food and farming and its ability to achieve Net Zero has been a key driver for Minette. In 2020 she led the NFU on one of the most successful campaigns ever seen, bringing together a coalition of chefs, including Jamie Oliver, farmers, environmentalists, consumer groups and animal welfare experts – resulting in over one million people signing the NFU food standards petition. Minette also co-founded ‘Ladies in Beef’ and the Great British Beef Week. She has regularly engaged with different media, including frequent appearances on the ‘Today’ programme, ‘Question Time’, ‘Any Questions’, ‘Desert Island Discs’, Woman’s Hour and other national print and broadcast media. She is currently writing a monthly piece for Country Life magazine. Minette is mother to twins and a tenant farmer, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. The farm has an Aberdeen Angus beef herd, arable crops and a few sheep. The business is diversified, with a wedding and events venue in a 17th century tithe barn, winter grazing for polo ponies. Alongside a recently restored walled garden, growing native British flowers and a cottage holiday let. Minette trained as a Cordon Bleu chef, is an ambassador for Farm Africa and a passionate advocate and fundraiser for the Junior Diabetic Research Foundation. She’s run in four marathons, raising over 100,000 for charity. In 2021 Minette was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.