NORTH Yorkshire farmer Ben Gill is set to fly the flag for British agriculture into the Millennium.

Mr Gill, elected yesterday as the new President of the National Farmers Union, immediately sounded a clarion call for British farmers to receive a fair deal in Europe.

He said the aim was equality for British agriculture, with reform of the Common Agriculture Policy high on his agenda. He wanted to enable British agriculture to be competitive on world markets.

"We leave no stone unturned. British farmers can and will take on any competitor, given the chance.

"A key issue will be the lifting of the ban against British beef to allow the world to eat the top quality product once again."

But he also issued a "united we stand, divided we fall" warning.

"If we are to achieve these objectives, we the farming community must stand united."

One of his first functions as president will be to attend and speak at a rally at Thirsk Racecourse tomorrow, attended by MPs Anne McIntosh, John Greenway and David Curry, at which farmers from across North and East Yorkshire are expected to express their fears for the future of farming.

He says the support of politicians, retailers and consumers is needed to keep Britain farming.

Mr Gill, married to Carolyn with four sons, has been NFU deputy president since 1992 and is well used to the cut-and-thrust of agricultural politics.

He played a key role in steering the industry through the stormy waters of the BSE crisis.

The Evening Press reported during the height of the disaster how he travelled thousands of miles every week, to meetings all over Britain and Europe, as he sought to restore confidence in the British beef industry.

And he was made a CBE in 1996 for his services to agriculture.

Mr Gill has run Home Farm, at Hawkhills, near Easingwold, since 1978. The farm, which has been in his family for four generations, has 240 ewes and handles up to 1,000 lambs and 200 cattle during the year, and also produces wheat, barley, sugar beet and oilseed rape.

He encourages local children to visit the farm to learn about the changing crop cycle, lambing and other farming practices. He has an interest in conservation, planting dozens of trees on his farm and excavating a pond.

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