YORKSHIRE and the North-East are about to experience the worst and the best effects of the revolutions facing farming, an industry leader said yesterday.

Common Agricultural Policy reforms, which come into force in January, lie at the heart of the challenges facing the region, according to NFU president Tim Bennett.

He said everyone with an interest in the industry's future would have to work together to create the right conditions for agriculture to thrive in the wake of those changes, which will see the basis of funding switched from farm production to farm area.

He said: "As with all change, there are always winners and losers, but there is no doubt that Yorkshire and the North-East will be one of the areas most adversely affected by the introduction of the new Single Farm Payment (SFP).

"This is something we are very much aware of and are committed to doing all we can to explore ways of mitigating the worst effects, particularly for livestock and dairy farmers."

However, he said the introduction of "decoupled" payments, which are not based on what farmers produce, meant the region was well placed to focus more on the marketplace and respond directly to consumer demands.

He said: "The message that farmers must become more consumer-oriented, and produce the quality and quantity that the market requires, is one that applies to the whole food chain.

"From next year, the driving force of farming will be to achieve profitability.

"The results, unless farmers get the right signals from within the food chain about guaranteed markets and long-term prices, commodities simply will not be produced."

Mr Bennett said the changes would take adjusting to, particularly in the North, where many upland and lowland farmers and milk producers could be significantly worse under SFP.

He said a joint approach was needed by all organisation involved in the rural economy.

He said: "We need, for example, to carry out the detailed impact assessment to identify those areas hardest hit by the introduction of the SFP.

"Unless action is taken to protect the rural economy in these areas, which include some of the best-loved landscapes in the country, we could see a decline in the number of working farms."