In the midst of arguably the worst calamity ever to befall our farmers, ROB SIMPSON, press officer of the Yorkshire and North East National

Farmers Union asks: what will life be like after the foot and mouth crisis?

WITH the number of confirmed outbreaks of foot and mouth running into the hundreds and the countryside in a state of suspended animation, what is the future for British farmers?

I can honestly say that this crisis has been one of the most frenetic and busiest periods I have ever experienced in my career.

As the NFU's press officer for Yorkshire and the North East, I have dealt with an unprecedented number of media inquiries with requests for industry spokesmen, details of confirmed and suspicious cases, facts, figures, interviews, briefings, constant updates, and so on...

The story has been headline news for newspapers, TV news reports and radio bulletins for weeks. As the number of cases escalates, the measures needed to bring it under control have become increasingly draconian and the reaction from affected farmers has swung from anger to utter despair.

The public has shown a tremendous amount of support by staying away from livestock farms during this crisis, which has unfortunately led to a loss of income for many rural businesses in North Yorkshire and across the UK.

This crisis has graphically demonstrated the symbiotic link between farming and our beautiful countryside. And the desire of millions of people to explore the countryside has been brought home during their enforced abstinence.

Which is why the public has insisted on everything being done to eradicate this disease and allow the countryside, and all the businesses which rely on it, to resume to some sort of normality.

But what next?

It is clear that such a high profile crisis will lead, in the aftermath of this dreadful disease, to a similarly high profile debate about British agriculture. The NFU and farmers will turn from trying to deal with this crisis, to leading a debate which could have far-reaching consequences for the whole industry.

When the dust finally settles, people like myself will undoubtedly return to helping quality British food command a premium price.

The debate over whether we should be paying more for quality British food, or settling for cheap imported food produced to lower standards will continue long after the foot and mouth story ends.

The food industry will continue to struggle with the contradiction of the public demanding ever higher standards, but being generally unwilling to pay for those higher standards. Attempts to stock only organic produce by one retailer recently met with failure, partly because customers were unwilling to pay the higher prices.

But everyone in the food chain must continue to educate the public about good, wholesome food produced to exacting standards of animal welfare, environmental protection and food hygiene - namely quality food from Britain.

As one newspaper columnist put it recently: "British agriculture has been....trying to re-establish a quality position understood and valued by the customer. That will be a long, slow but not impossible job, in which Government does still have an important role: doing more to help inform the consumer, and encouraging the supermarkets to play their part."