FARMERS need to face-up to tough new rules on set-aside or risk losing their Single Farm Payment next year, Cumbria's National Farmers Union chairman warned this week.

Alistair Mackintosh said there were still a lot of farmers who did not understand the implications of set-aside.

It is one of the so-called cross compliance requirements farmers need to fulfil to receive their Single Farm Payment - the one-off support cheque which replaces the plethora of existing production subsidies from 2005.

Until now many dairy and livestock farmers have not had to deal with set-aside which was part of the subsidy regime for arable farmers. But, under the new rules temporary' grassland which has been under grass for less than five years is classed as arable and subject to set-aside regulations. Lowland farmers will have to leave eight per cent of their arable land fallow while those on uplands classed in severely disadvantaged areas' must leave 1.3 per cent.

"It's important for farmers themselves to get their heads around it," said Mr Mackintosh, a beef and sheep farmer at Ravenstonedale. "There's a lot who don't realise set-aside is part of cross compliance and it could be, come 2005, we will find a lot of farmers falling foul of the regulations and forfeiting their payment because it's the first criteria Defra will look at."

Mr Mackintosh raised the problem with NFU leader Tim Bennett last week and pressed him to ask the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to apply a light touch in enforcing cross compliance.

"Even though both farmers and the Government don't agree with the new set-aside rules, we have to accept that Europe is insisting on us complying and there is little point in lobbying for change.

"However, the NFU can make a real difference here by asking the Government to avoid applying set-aside rules to the letter of the law. The French Government has helped their farmers in this way on many other issues throughout the years."

Mr Mackintosh advised farmers to urgently find out if they needed to set land aside and if so, calculate how much. Guidelines are available from the NFU Orderline document (ref 809) available from 0870-845-8458 and from Defra at www.defra.gov.uk/farm/capreform/implementation/impl05.htm. For extra advice, NFU members can contact the NFU regional office on 01695-554900.