With the dark clouds of TB hanging over the farming community, and fears of losing tariff-free trade alongside the uncertainty of the future of Single Farm Payments, it was always going to be a different hustings to the other expected meetings where topics such as the NHS would always feature heavily.

The livestock market at Raglan hosted four of the six candidates - one had sent a representative - in a climate of uncertainty and fears over the future of farming in this rural area.

Even farmers are divided over whether to leave or remain within the EU as European funding has helped support farmers who struggle to make a profit with the high cost of inputs - such as fertiliser and feed - cancelling out much if not all of the profit margin with beef prices on the floor and dairy farmers producing milk for less than it costs to produce.

It wasn’t difficult to do your homework on the subjects that would be raised: Monmouthshire is classed in the high-risk category of TB, farmers have no control over what their produce sells for, and with the current charge of animals contributing 10 per cent of climate emissions, the industry is in free-fall.

Candidates may have had their pre-prepared notes on their favourite topics, but the NHS was not high on the agenda and the question on the banning of neonicotinoids, used to protect oil seed rape from the flea beetle, left all candidates floundering on the answer on how to compete with importers of oil seed who are still allowed to use the chemical which has been blamed for killing the bee population.

The issue of tackling TB - devolved to the present Welsh Government - saw Tory David Davies and Janet Davies, (deputising for Plaid Cymru candidate Hugh Kocan) in favour of culling badgers, Green candidate Ian Chandler was in favour of capture and vaccination but Labour’s Yvonne Murphy went to the back of the class when she said cattle incidents "were going down in the right direction" and was quickly corrected by the audience who informed her there was a 28 per cent rise in cattle being slaughtered. She apologised for getting her information wrong and admitted it was an area she was not familiar with.

Alison Willot, the Lib Dem candidate who lives at Tregare felt every farm animal should be vaccinated and tagged. Janet Davies, deputising for the Plaid Cymru candidate said her group supported the badger cull.

The divisive leave or remain? Ian Chandler said the country was better off in the EU and wanted a people’s vote. Yvonne Murphy, Labour blamed the present government for the Brexit mess. "Only a Labour government will put this back to the people," she said. Lib Dem’s Alison Willot said Brexit is "a real threat to farming across Wales" adding that a huge number of family farms will: "be in real difficulties if we leave with no deal".

The future is still uncertain for farmers and the next government will have no magic wand to wave and lift farm margins but it is hoped that the present concern over tariff-free trade will be put to rest sooner rather than later.