SINGLE farm payments must continue if British beef farmers are to survive.

Europe is currently considering a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2013.

Caroline Spelman, Environment Secretary, wants an end to direct farm payments with farmers rewarded more for their environmental efforts.

But the National Beef Association (NBA) has warned that beef farmers need the single farm payments (SFPs) to protect them from the grip supermarkets have on retail food prices.

Oisin Murnion, NBA chairman, said the market income was 25 per cent to 30 per cent below what beef farmers need to earn a genuine profit.

Mr Murnion said: “The naked, incontrovertible truth is that without a continuation of direct SFP support, the UK’s beef production would take a death dive – unless, of course, the supermarkets dropped their policy of selling underpriced beef, that is subsidised by the tax payer, and retail it at prices that allow finishers to be paid at least 400p a deadweight kilo instead.”

Tax payers had two choices – either underwrite beef production and its value to the environment through CAP payments, or pay more when they shop.

“Farmers would prefer the latter because it would allow them to cover their costs and secure a reasonable standard of living, but the supermarkets prevent this through their resolute refusal to retail beef at prices that come anywhere near the level they should be,” said Mr Murnion.

“This means adequate SFP cover in the post-2013 period is essential for the continued delivery of home produced suckler beef into the national retail system.”

He said maintaining the size of the national beef herd was important to the environment because, without cattle, there would be nation-wide scrub encroachment, loss of wildlife habitats and key rural communities