SIMPLICITY and common sense were two key requirements in today's agriculture, the conference was told - and Defra was strongly criticised for constantly "gold plating" and complicating policies.

Richard Barker, solicitor and leading expert on European policy, said the Government's constant gold plating caused severe problems when trying to negotiate matters.

The European Commission recently asked member states to submit their proposals on environmental aspects of the CAP Reforms. "Defra presented an 800-page document; the summary was 200 pages, offering 250 different environmental options," said Mr Barker.

"Other member states submitted 40 to 50 pages. The Commission was horrified by Defra's submission and refused to look at it." The Commission said the Defra submission would not have given any true benefits.

Stephen Thompson, a semi-retired farmer who spoke from the floor, said common sense was the main thing required in agriculture and the country at large.

"It is high time the country woke up to what is really going on," he said. "We have had so much interference people are just sick of it. Farmers are going out in droves, they have had enough. What is required is common sense."

Andy Tordoff, head of rural renaissance and tourism for Yorkshire Forward, stressed the importance of farming to the economy of the region.

Each regional development agency had been asked to develop its own rural framework. Yorkshire Forward's aim was to rationalise and simplify the system to get rid of duplication.

Mr Tordoff said there were about 18,000 farms in the region and, over the next decade, it was estimated half would change direction in a substantial way.

During their review of existing systems, they had discovered about 600 different rural area strategies. "In my view this must be reduced to five or six and we must involve you," he told farmers attending the conference. "There is no point in me sitting in an ivory tower in Leeds; we must make absolutely certain that you are involved, we must get it right."

He had heard of farmers receiving 15 visits a month from people wanting to tell, advise or sell them things. He wanted a well co-ordinated approach with just one person calling.

He did, however, point out that it was not easy to have a group of organisations sit round a table to be told that some were not needed any more.

Sir Ben Gill, who farms at Easingwold, said it was essential to ensure that a regional or local delivery did not create a hotch-potch of different standards. Officials in London or Leeds did not always appreciate that rural communities did not respect administrative boundaries.

Mr Tordoff fully accepted his comments and said regional development agencies should work together and not have boundaries on policy matters.