A FIGHT to protect North York Moors hill farmers from disaster has begun.

The North East region of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has called on English Nature, the RSPB, the Countryside Agency and three National Park authorities to join forces to address concerns about the new single farm payment, and its impact on upland livestock farmers.

Under new European arrangements subsidies will be paid increasingly on the size of farm rather than production.

Hill farmers, with limited land, have in the past been paid on stock, so that the more cattle and sheep they had, the more they got. Now the danger is that faced with subsidies dropping from about £220 to about £75 many hill farmers could give up farming altogether.

Alerting these organisations to the farmers' plight, NFU North East regional director Richard Ellison has urged the support of countryside organisations in looking to mitigate the effect of reducing farm payments on many upland farm businesses, located in Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA).

"These SDA areas cover vast tracts of the north east, including large parts of Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland, and any shortfalls in payments to our beef and dairy producers will have severe implications on the viability of their businesses," said Mr Ellison.

"It will also have social consequences which Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will have to take into account.

"This is an issue of real concern, not just to the NFU but to many agencies charged with the well-being of the landscape and rural economy."

Updated: 12:08 Friday, March 12, 2004