As leader of the Conservatives and would-be PM, David Cameron will be as sensitive as any politician to the views of big business.

But as MP for his very rural Witney constituency, he is also more attuned than many to the pressures on the farming community in the 21st century.

His problem is that the interests of certain big businesses - especially supermarkets - can be at odds with those of farmers.

The supermarkets want cheaper and cheaper food. The farmers are vulnerable to the power of the big chains.

Like his commitment to the environment, this is an area where his party's instinctive commitment to free enterprise will be sorely tested.

Mr Cameron yesterday trod a delicate middle path between the 'enterprising' food giants like Tesco (half-year profits £1.09bn) and his rural neighbours (many of whom helped get him elected).

It is good to hear him expressing fears for the countryside and the economy which sustains it.

But the big test, as with so many issues, will be precisely what he plans to do to protect it - and who he will take on in the process.

Agonised questions are one thing. Hard policies are another.