FARMERS in York and North Yorkshire are being urged to adapt to survive in a turbulent market.

Twelve months on from the launch of Framework For Change - a regional blueprint for delivering the Government's Sustainable Strategy on Farming and Foods (SSFF) - a team of industry representatives shared the fruits of their labour at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate yesterday.

Farmer Tony Cooke, chairman of the implementation group, said the team had studied farming, food, environment and health to "reconnect" farmers and growers with the marketplace.

He said that in the next few years some farmers could fall by the wayside if they were unable to adapt their businesses to changing consumer requirements.

"Many find change unsettling," he said. "However, with change comes opportunities - for example, to be more responsive to consumer demands for healthier lifestyles, better care for the environment and for food which they know is locally produced.

"Our aim is to help ensure that we have an efficient, profitable and competitive farming and food industry delivering a diverse countryside and providing safe wholesome and affordable food accessible by all. It isn't rocket science, it's a case of us highlighting opportunities and working with a wide range of partners.

"However, the stark reality is that it is incumbent on all of us in the industry to ensure survival of our own business while recognising our new contract with society."

The team has researched the market for red meat and tried to find new markets for exports, such as for traditional upland sheep breeds. It has looked into non-food crop trials, and the development of a guide to using wood fuels like willow coppice for heating public buildings.

It highlighted achievements, including the Stockbridge Technology Centre in Cawood, near Selby, where children from 22 local schools have been given plots to grow crops.

Updated: 10:29 Wednesday, July 14, 2004