The government minister for environment, food and rural affairs visited AC Goatham & Son in Hoo earlier today to boost the “remain” campaign in the upcoming EU referendum.

MP Elizabeth Truss visited Flanders Farm, Ratcliffe Highway, to see Goatham’s new packing store and ripening rooms.

Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst and Cllr Phil Filmer, head of front line services at Medway Council, also visited the farm, run by father and son Clive and Ross Goatham.

In the last 25 years, the firm has gone from two farms to 17, with another 20 partner farms across Kent.

It grows one in every three British conference pears and more than one in every five British apples sold in the UK.

Mrs Truss said: “It’s exciting to think there will be even more great British fruit coming out of Goatham’s and an extended apple season.

"I think we can take on countries like Holland who have been investing in this kind of thing for quite some time and do it better than they can.

“If we leave the EU first of all there will be extra red tape for business and they won’t grow as fast and will have a knock-on affect.

“Life is better than it was in the early 80s and we’ve got to be careful not to take that for granted.”

Ross Goatham said: “Each harvest, we seek employees who are capable, motivated and keen to work, be that from our communities here locally in Kent, or from Europe wide.

"Being part of and in the European Union helps to ensure that we have a motivated work force who are able to travel easily to help harvest the Great British apples and pears we grow.

"It also allows us as a business to benefit from the opportunities of wider trading agreements with the rest of the world.”

More in Monday’s Medway Messenger.