FARMERS in Ribble Valley hung a huge banner on the A59 inviting people to reconnect with the countryside.

New research has revealed that 90 per cent of Britons do not know that beer is made from barley, a fifth do not know yoghurt is made from milk and more than one in 10 think rice is grown in the UK.

The nationwide survey, by the National Farmers' Union, revealed that less than two in 10 people were aware that three-quarters of the UK's land surface is farmland and two-thirds had never met a farmer.

The 'c/o British Farming' campaign will see posters and banners erected the length and breadth of the country from today. And Ribble Valley farmers gathered at the A59 near Clitheroe to hang a banner and put their message across to passing motorists.

Downham farmer Thomas Binns, Lancashire chairman of the NFU, said: "The survey highlights just how many consumers have lost touch with how their food is produced. Given that British farmers tend 75 per cent of land in the country and produce two-thirds of the nation's food, these results are startling."

The campaign will see leaflets dropped through letterboxes with an invitation to householders to visit the countryside.