LIKE many farmers in North Yorkshire, the Bosomworths of Felixkirk, near Thirsk, are now trying to plan their future following the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Whatever decision they make, and even if it proves successful, it could be that the head of the family, Mr Robin Bosomworth, will not reap the benefits in his working lifetime.

Recovery from the disease cannot be achieved in the short-term. Up to July last year, the dairy side of the business, the biggest in the area, had operated daily without fail, delivering milk for 63 years non-stop.

But in one fell swoop the Bosomworths, of Marderby Hall, lost 9,000 pigs and 650 cattle even though the farm did not actually contract the disease.

Defra officials took over the farm - and are still there, supervising the cleaning programme.

"The farm has been theirs since that day, not ours," said Mr Bosomworth.

It is hoped the farm will be given the all-clear by the end of the month. "But then our troubles really start," he said.

It may well be that the Bosomworths never return to dairy farming and opt instead for just rearing pigs.

"But whichever way we go, there are hazards and it is nerve-racking trying to make the right decisions for the future. It is so costly now to rear livestock, especially with all the new regulations, insurance which the government is insisting farmers take out so that no compensation will have to be paid in case of another crisis, and the extra expense of rearing methods to try to prevent another outbreak of a similar kind.

"We are talking about 15 years before we would know if we had made the right decision."

Mr Bosomworth's son, Trevor, chairman of Thirsk NFU, added: "If we go into pigs, the outcome will be obvious in, say, five to eight years' time, shorter than for livestock. But pigs are rife with disease and there are so many strains of the wasting disease that we would have to expect to get one form or another. There is so much of it in the area, so it isn't an easy decision."

The Bosomworths had started to seek business advice from the government before the crisis. They have also used independent business consultants.

Mr Bosomworth snr said: "You need advice as, when you are looking at your own business, it isn't easy to be detached and you find yourself trying to make the figures stack up when really they don't. We are waiting for reports from our advisers and a specialist dairy consultant before making a final decision. There couldn't be a better time to really take stock.

"After farming in the area for 200 years, as a family business we thought we had made progress in farming methods, but you wouldn't think so would you? Any farmer who is willing to invest most of his capital in the long-term future of this shrinking industry has to have great courage.

"In our case, what we are doing will be for the benefit of my grandson, Simon, aged one. We are trying to survive this disaster and ensure that he can continue a future in the family tradition.