FARMERS' leader Peter Kendall had an upbeat message for the industry.

Agriculture was fairing better than other industries through the recession and it had also benefited from the currency which made imports expensive and exports cheaper.

The public was keen to buy local and British and Mr Kendall was impressed by the "phenomenal" amount of people attending the Great Yorkshire Show.

It was important farmers continued to build on that support and he urged supermarkets and retailers to satisfy the demand for British produce.

He called for an end to supermarkets buying the cheapest produce, citing the case of cauliflower growers in Cornwall having to compete against French producers who had grown too many and were selling the surplus cheap.

"People are demanding UK produce which meet UK standards and retailers are taking a massive gamble if they think they can always pick products up at the cheapest price, that is the same for horticulture and livestock," said Mr Kendall.

He welcomed Defra Secretary Hilary Benn's decision to accept a voluntary system to put more land into environmental management rather than a compulsory re-imposition of set-aside.

He said North-East farmers already managed more than 70 per cent of farmland through agri-environment schemes such as environmental stewardship.

However, he warned that farmers need a smooth transition into agri-environment schemes to meet the challenging environmental targets.

"We therefore need the government to ensure that the current Rural Land Registry re-mapping exercise runs to time and that problems with mapping the uplands are rapidly resolved.

He paid tribute to the region's hill farmers who, despite difficult times, had done a tremendous job on the environmental front.