SINGLE farm payments put forward by Defra were questioned by a national NFU official this week.

Kevin Pearce, livestock adviser, warned farmers to be cautious about the £65-£85/ha estimate for severely disadvant- aged areas and the £210 to £230/ha figure for non-SDAs.

"I am very concerned about these figures. I have not been convinced by Defra that they are accurate," he told a packed NFU meeting at Hexham mart on Monday night. "Please treat these figures with caution, there is a long way to go yet."

The single farm payment will be phased in from 2005 over eight years and Mr Pearce said a lot could happen in that time.

The NFU was seeking clarification of how payments had been calculated. "We are not happy with the figures so far proposed; there are farmers with land in the SDA and the non-SDA and we are not sure how Defra is handling that," he said.

Mr Pearce said the NFU was also investigating whether there was a more appropriate boundary between the two payment regions. It was apparent that there were a lot of very good farms in the SDAs. A more appropriate boundary might be the moorland line.

"I have been on a tour of all the SDA areas in England over the last two weeks and it is clear this SDA line is not right and needs to be looked at," he said.

More than 400 farmers packed the large function suite at Hexham mart. They queued to get in and many found there was standing room only.

Mr Pearce said the mid-term review had been the most radical reform of the Common Agricultural Policy since it began.

"The deal we have, in terms of it being not historic, is not what the industry wanted," he said, "Very clearly any deal that did not have (a) historic (basis) meant there would be considerable losers and winners, it has created a lot of distortions.

"This is not a deal we wanted and is certainly not the best deal for mixed enterprises in areas like Northumberland, but it is what we have and, I am afraid, we have to make it work.

"It is what politicians have left us with and we have to try and make sure it is as workable as possible."

But he stressed it was vital for every farmer to take professional advice before making any decisions. "Every farm is different and it is very important you take advice on the basis of your own farm and circumstances," he said.

Mr Pearce also said it was vital that all farmers registered their land for the scheme when application forms were sent out in early 2005, as that would form the basis of the single farm payment that year.

"If you don't you will not get any entitlement," he said.

There were still many points to be clarified and the NFU was continuing to seek answers and put forward representations.

* The North-East region of the NFU has called on allied organisations, such as English Nature, the RSPB, the Countryside Agency and three National Park authorities, to join forces to address concern about the single farm payment, and its impact on upland livestock farmers.

Richard Ellison, NFU North East regional director, has urged their support in looking to mitigate the effect of reducing farm payments on many upland farm businesses, located in SDAs.