The statistics were revealed this week at the annual Farm Retail Association Conference after it undertook its biggest research project to date, alongside Harper Adams University.

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Senior Lecturer in Food Retail and Marketing, Alastair Boot, said: "We believe this is the first substantial survey of its kind into farm retail. It establishes the growth of the sector and its enormous value to local economies.

"It is clear that farm shops offer a different experience to high street shopping through the quality of their produce and their standard of service – and that this difference is increasingly appreciated by customers."

FRA chairman Rupert Evans said: “Collectively we are generating more than £1.4 billion in sales which is absolutely staggering and a testament to the passion and integrity of farm retailers.

“We knew anecdotally that consumers are preferring to shop and support local more than ever before and this data confirms just that. The trust was built up through the pandemic as farm retailers could adapt quickly to introduce Covid safe measures and people felt safer shopping in smaller environments as opposed to large supermarkets. We think the pandemic will have changed shopping habits for many and will be here to stay.”