Farmers welcome wet weather support

Thursday, 23 September 2004 12:00 AM

The Government's decision to give priority payments to those farmers worst hit by the wet August weather has been backed by the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

In August, farmers warned that the wettest August for almost 50 years had decimated this year's wheat harvest, with some farmers unable to harvest any of their crops.

At the time, the Government's rural affairs advisor, Lord Haskins, warned that the effects on the countryside could be worst than the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak.

One option under consideration was early EU subsidy payments to farmers but, after the harvest was better than had been feared and a look at the logistics involved in early payments, this idea has been scrapped.

Instead, the Government will prioritise the payment of the annual subsidies, which begins in November, to those farmers worst hit. All other farmers will be paid during the normal time scale.

Farming and Food Minister Larry Whitty said: "Every effort will be made to get cheques to hard-hit farmers as soon as the payment period opens. We are working closely with farmers' representatives to ensure the most effective targeting of our efforts and to explore other ways in which existing schemes and resources can be used to help.

The NFU today said that they firmly backed the Government's approach. Chair of the NFU's combined crops committee, Arthur Hill, said: "This is absolutely the best outcome for farming. Considerable discussion took place over the idea of bringing payment forward however, it would have required detailed application to the Commission and could have risked delaying other payments. Making the hardest hit regions the priority when payments begin means we get the maximum money delivered as soon as possible to the whole industry."

Tags: