The Ulster Farmers' Union has reassured farmers in Fermanagh of the free and "unfettered" access of their products to the GB market despite concerns over the Backstop and the support for the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement.

The assurance was given by the UFU Presidential team who kicked off a series of county meetings in Enniskillen on Monday night.

The Presidential team of Ivor Ferguson, President; Victor Chestnutt and David Brown, Deputy Presidents were accompanied by Chief Executive Wesley Aston and other staff members.

The President said they had received assurances from Westminster and had clarification on the appropriate section in the Withdrawal Agreement that there would not be any differential between Northern Ireland produce and that from the remainder of the United Kingdom when sold in the UK. David Brown advised farmers to read the text of the agreement, itemising the page and section dealing with Northern Ireland.

They were answering queries from some UFU members attending the meeting in the Killyhevlin Hotel in which a few indicated some reservations over the UFU's support for the Prime Minister's deal.

The President replied that this was not his decision but that of members of the Executive Committee who with the exception of one member agreed that the Prime Minister's deal was the best that was on the table.

Explaining the Union's stance, Ivor Ferguson said that the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association representing 46 companies and the CBI headed by agriculturalist, Trevor Lockhart of Fane Valley, all supported the deal.

He said the alternative was a "no deal "which could be disastrous for farmers.

"It was simple for the UFU - every farmer needs a customer every day and they(Executive) said they could not handle a 'no deal' situation," he said.

He said they also worked closely with other farming unions and they all supported the Prime Minister's deal.

David Brown said he had no doubt that farmers would adapt to the changes which lay ahead.

Wesley Aston explained to farmers that there were other issues involved such as labour with an estimated three in 10 workers not returning over the past two years. He said they needed this labour requirement to process farmers' products.

He also explained how the UK government had committed agricultural support until the end of the current parliamentary term expected to be until 2022 but explained that as a region, they would be tweaking the current system from 2019 so that a new support mechanism was in place from 2022.

He also assured farmers that the UFU had received assurances that there would not be any changes to NI products entering the GB markets or no changes to the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme.

After attending the Oxford Farming Conference last week, Ivor Ferguson said a question was put to delegates about the support for the deal. Ten per cent voted for "No Deal", 30 per cent voted for the Prime Minister's deal and 60 per cent wanted to stay in the EU. He said there was very little support for a second referendum.

About half of the meeting was taken up with discussing Brexit.

The remainder of the meeting was taken up with discussions on animal health and ammonia emissions. On animal health, the TB testing regime, BVD and antimicrobial resistance were discussed.

David Brown raised the plight of the Fermanagh farmer who lost 159 cows in the botulism crisis. Due to the support of fellow UFU members, the money raised paid for all his rendering charges and enabled him to purchase around 30 new cows. David thanked the membership for their support.

Victor Chestnutt also told the plight of a farmer who lost all his cattle herd due to TB.

Ammonia emissions and the forthcoming consultation on the new nitrates review were also discussed.