Upland farmers urged to attend open NFU meeting

Uplands farmers from across the West Midlands are being urged to attend an open NFU meeting that will focus on the future of hill farming in the region.

The guest speaker at the meeting on December 16 will be Alex Page, an influential figure within Defra's Uplands Management Branch.

It will focus on support for the hill farming sector when the Hill Farm Allowance Scheme finishes by 2007 to be replaced with a new support scheme as the impact of the reform of the CAP starts to be felt in upland areas.

"We hope that as many uplands farmers as possible will attend the meeting to hear about the challenges facing the sector in the coming years," said Elwyn Maddy, who represents the NFU West Midlands region on the NFU's national Uplands Advisory Group.

"This is a prime opportunity for hill farmers to put their concerns to Defra over the way the new scheme will work and to learn more about Defra's plans for the future of our sector.

"We are delighted to have Mr Page attending our meeting and we hope that as many uplands farmers as possible seize the opportunity to learn more about the effect on the future of their business."

The meeting will take place at the 7Y Offices at Wharton, near Leominster, at 7.30pm.