IT now appears certain that Corus will go ahead with its plans to cut 6,000 steel jobs across Britain, 1,000 of which will go on Teesside.

It is a salutary reminder that, although the crisis in agriculture is grabbing all the headlines, there are other parts of the country that are hurting just as bad.

And the best that Redcar and Hartlepool can hope for is a well-planned, well-financed regeneration package aimed at the medium and long term. Other than redundancy money and the prospect of re-training programmes, there will be very little immediate assistance for the 1,000 steelworkers whose heartbreak at losing their livelihoods will be every bit as real as the heartbreak the farmers are suffering.

It is also highly unlikely that the shops and pubs in steel-making communities will receive rates exemptions to tide them over the tough times that they will undoubtedly face. And there certainly won't be a high-profile steel communities taskforce headed by a prominent Government minister to attempt to guide the affected areas into the future.

It is a salutary reminder that while Conservative and Labour are both trying to make out that they are the countryside's friend, agriculture employs two per cent of the workforce and accounts for about one per cent of national income; industry employs 27 per cent and accounts for 26 per cent of national income.

It is not wrong that so much time, energy and money is being devoted to agriculture; but it would be totally wrong if, when the Corus announcement comes, it were to be dismissed as just another loss of industrial jobs when the communities affected will need exactly the same resources currently being thrown at agriculture.

Reasons to be careful

WHILE we are talking about salutary reminders, the findings of the CJD inquiry in Leicestershire must make us think again about why there have been such stringent health measures imposed upon abattoirs.

It now appears that the CJD prion was spread because of a traditional technique that was used in some Leicestershire abattoirs.

At the time, the announcement banning that technique would have been regarded as yet another erosion of country traditions and yet more red tape that would only help drive small abattoirs out of business.

In fact, that red tape probably saved many, many lives.