I know it has been said before, but I am sure FPJ readers will forgive me for re-stating the obvious: the UK horticulture sector is heavily reliant on migrant workers, especially in the summer - and we are far from the only industry in this country clamouring for greater access to this pool of labour.

But our government seems to have made the critical error of confounding the seasonal labour debate with immigration issues, failing to realise that the fresh produce sector - along with many others - faces a fairly bleak future if the amount of permits allocated to seasonal agricultural workers is not pushed back up to the levels of two years ago. Phasing out SAWS might keep certain elements of society happy; but it will undoubtedly make it much tougher for agricultural businesses to source labour in future.

Hopefully the government will, on this issue at least, take heed of the agricultural community. Our poll this week shows that 81 per cent of you feel the government does not have the best interests of the food production sector at heart.

But politicians need to take note, as the impact of phasing out SAWS is only just around the corner. If we have another warm spring, like we did in 2007, the whole situation could be brought to a head very swiftly. Maybe this week’s biting gale force winds (see p5) are not such a bad thing after all...