NEWLY elected NFU Northumberland county chairman, Mr Stoker Frater, has pledged to fight for a profitable future for Britain's farming industry.

A beef, sheep and arable farmer, from Abberwick, Alnwick, he has called on the government to shore up the import controls to prevent another animal disease decimating the farming industry.

"Farm gate prices have been driven down for successive years and we have to continue working for a better return from the marketplace," he said.

"I will also be working hard to prevent more regulations and red tape strangling the industry as a result of the government unjustly blaming farmers for the foot-and-mouth epidemic."

Mr Frater rents 1,500 acres on three farms west of Alnwick. The land ranges from medium lowland used for growing cereals to moorland for permanent grazing.

He farms 350 acres of arable, consisting of 125 acres of winter wheat, 125 of winter barley, with the rest planted with spring cereals.

Mr Frater also keeps 240 suckler cows and rears their calves for the beef industry, and has 1,800 ewes which produce between 2,000 and 2,500 lambs each year.

His philosophy is to be as self-sufficient as possible: Black-faced ewes produce replacement breeding stock; replacement heifers are produced from the farm, and all the barley grown is fed to the cattle and sheep.

Mr Frater, aged 51, is married to Anne and has three sons - Mark, aged 27, Paul, 25, and Richard, 19. Paul works on the farm, Mark is a contractor, and Richard works in a printing company.

During his two years as chairman of the NFU North Northumberland group, Mr Frater increased the attendance at NFU meetings significantly.

He farms in partnership with his brother William, aged 49. Their grandfather originally took the tenancy at Abberwick Farm in 1904, and Mr Frater has been farming for 33 years.

The business employs three full-time workers and an additional four temporary staff during the summer. Contracting work is also carried out, including silage making, harvesting and general field work.

"I enjoy working with the NFU, lobbying the government and speaking to other members. My main aim in my year of office will be to get more farmers to join the NFU to enable the industry to speak with one united voice.

"I have noticed over the past few years that many farmers have stopped enjoying the job and I would like to help them appreciate what they have. Foot-and-mouth has not only cost farmers a lot of money, it has also created a sense of isolation because of the cancellation of shows and markets.