LAURIE Norris has been appointed NFU technical adviser for the whole of the North of England.

Miss Norris, originally from Sowerby, has been regional policy adviser for Yorkshire and the North-East since June 1999. She takes on her new role, covering Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland, Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, from next week.

She succeeds David Collier, who has been an NFU technical adviser for the last 13 years. He has been promoted to NFU regional director for the West Midlands.

As technical adviser, Miss Norris will be responsible for land management issues, such as nitrate vulnerable zones, access, environmental legislation and waste management.

"Issues such as open access will be at the forefront of the agenda in the coming years, particularly as the Countryside Agency continues to roll out its provisional and draft access maps covering the northern region," she said.

"We will continue to oppose the introduction of a pesticides tax by encouraging members to implement the pesticides voluntary initiative on their farms."

The voluntary initiative was the ideal vehicle to demonstrate that farmers were using pesticides responsibly and safely with little impact on the environment.

The Water Framework Directive could have a damaging effect on the industry. "We can't prevent it, but we can and are working to mitigate its impact on hard-pressed farm businesses," said Miss Norris.

Before joining the NFU, Miss Norris worked at the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency on the pilot arable stewardship scheme, and at the Central Science Laboratory.

A farmer's daughter, she grew up on her family's mixed farm in Sowerby, near Thirsk. She graduated with an environmental science degree and is BASIS & FACTS registered -a professional arable qualification.