Why are farmers suddenly so worried about a no-deal Brexit?

Analysis: Leaving the EU without any deal at all in place would be a double blow for UK food producers, as Sean O'Grady explains

British beef would be undercut by tariff-free meat from places such as the US (Getty)

It is a tough conundrum. During the 2016 Brexit referendum, the countryside was seemingly covered in huge billboards, presumably placed there by farmers and landowners, urging a Leave vote.

And yet now, as the outraged response from the National Farmers’ Union makes clear, agriculture seems set to be one of the biggest losers from Brexit, especially under the no-deal scenario currently under discussion.

Their fear, if not their earlier voting record, is easily explained.