LEAVING the EU would be a "leap in the dark" for the UK's agricultural industries, according to a farming professor speaking in North Yorkshire.

The Farmer-Scientist Network, part of the Harrogate-headquartered Yorkshire Agricultural Society, has published its report Brexit & Agriculture to help advise farmers in the region ahead of a referendum on membership of the European Union.

Looking into the possible outcomes should the vote go in favour of leaving the EU, the report tries to analyse what could be agreed during the two-year negotiation period which would follow a referendum vote.

Professor Wyn Grant, of the University of Warwick, and member of the Farmer-Scientist Network, who helped produce the report, said: "There's lots of complexities and uncertainties.

"If the decision was taken to leave then there would still be a two-year debate to decide policy, and it's unlikely to be particularly good for agriculture.

"There are concerns about farm subsidies, which can make a difference between running a profit and running a loss.

"There are already issues about regulations within the EU which can be onerous, but the problem is a lot of that is as much London as it is Brussels. There isn't going to be a bonfire of regulations if we leave.

"It's a bit of a leap in the dark. The optimum outcome would be a free trade area within the rest of the EU but that will have to come at a price of compliance within EU regulations."

The report looks at possible affects on farm support and budgetary issues, migrant labour, world trade, animal welfare and plant protection among other areas at risk of change.

It states: "The impact of Brexit on the agricultural sector is very dependent on the negotiations between the UK and the EU after a referendum vote to leave, and subsequent policy decisions taken by the UK Government.

"The outcome of these negotiations is unpredictable. All sectors of the economy will be impacted by the post-BREXIT trade regime, and consequently it is very unlikely that agri-food interests will be a decisive factor in determining its form.

"The regulatory burden might not be reduced as much as farmers might hope.

"It is difficult to see exit as beneficial to the UK farmingsector, or to the UK food and drink industry more generally, but we would emphasise that any voting decision has to take account of a much wider range of considerations."

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said: "Very little work has been done looking into what would happen. It's not a case of not telling people, I don't think anyone has sat down and gone through the key issues.

"The single farm payment scheme is a fundamental part of most farms' income and that is under serious threat of renegotiation.

"Unless you tell people what they are going to get in the future it's very hard to make a decision."