Action must be taken to address shortages in migrant labour on British farms which could leave crops to rot, the National Farmers' Union has said.
Deputy President of the NFU, Minette Batters said they had already seen less numbers wanting to come to the UK and work.
Lincolnshire farmer Tim Casey told the BBC that his business is having 'acute problems' in finding workers which he expects will present 'real problems' in the future.
"In about three to five years I can see us starting to have some quite acute problems in finding workers and there are going to be some real problems in what we are able to do."
During the Conservative Party conference, the farming industry told the government that it would struggle to survive without seasonal flow of labour from the continent. CLA President Ross Murray said workers from the EU and beyond play a "crucial role" in the rural economy.
"In agriculture alone more than 30,000 permanent workers and an estimated 67,000 seasonal workers overseas help keep our shops and market stalls stocked with UK produce. Farms and other rural businesses need to know that after Brexit there will still be a flexible, skilled and secure workforce so they can plan for the future, invest in their businesses and secure or create jobs."
Ms Batters said: "Also with the exchange rate they are coming here and earning less money, so the problem has been fast tracked and that is why we are asking the government to stretch the net wider and to trial a global visa restricted scheme."
'Struggle to survive'
A pig industry survey recently found that one in five farms and businesses connected to the pig industry would 'struggle to survive' without migrant labour.
The survey, by the National Pig Association (NPA), shows a further one in four would have to significantly alter how they operated if the supply of migrant workers, primarily from the EU, was cut off, the survey showed.
The NPA is one of a number of organisations across the farming sectors currently seeking information on the extent to which the industry relies on EU labour, as the Brexit vote casts uncertainty over the future of current arrangements.
The online NPA survey received well over 100 responses from across the pig industry.
NPA chairman Richard Lister expressed concern that the government’s Brexit migration policy was likely to favour skilled workers over unskilled, which would not be helpful to the pig industry.
He said: "Any future schemes set up to ensure the future supply of migrant labour must encourage full-time workers to come and live in the UK, which is what the pig industry requires, rather than focus on short-term seasonal work, as previous schemes have."
