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APPEAL MADE: From left, hill farmers Steven Crabtree, Robert Lambert, Alistair Davy, Christine Ryder and Christine Clarkson outside 10 Downing Street

HILL farmers who lobbied Parliament have appealed to the public for help.

Alistair Davy, who farms in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, asked those who care about the uplands to lobby their MPs to help hill farmers.

He was speaking after he delivered a 3,000-name petition and dossier to 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Mr Davy, chairman of the Hill Farming Initiative, warned that unless the Government intervened, the entire upland economy would collapse.

He and other members of the delegation have all diversified and taken second jobs, but said it has still not been enough for them to continue for much longer.

They have been left reeling after last year's foot-and-mouth and bluetongue outbreaks.

They have also faced sky-high feed and input prices coupled with reductions in the single farm payment (SFP).

Agri-environmental schemes meant to offer payments to make up for the reduced SFP are not open to all farmers.

The delegation met local MPs William Hague, Anne McIntosh, David Curry, Robert Goodwill and Tory agriculture spokesman James Paice at the House of Commons.

They have sent a dossier about the problems and their action plan to Gordon Brown and all members of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee.

Mr Davy said: "We told them in no uncertain terms that the end is nigh. Unless something is done quickly to put more money into the uplands, then there is going to be a massive problem.

"We were disappointed that we did not see a Government minister, and would ask the public to support us by writing to their MP and Gordon Brown asking them to act."

8:37am Tuesday 4th March 2008

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