The last case of foot-and-mouth was confirmed on a farm near Appleby in the Eden Valley on September 30, 2001.

But, despite the fact that a full 12-months have passed, farmers are still labouring under onerous movement restrictions, particularly the now notorious 20-day standstill rule, and many are asking "why?"

The rule means that unless animals arriving on a farm can be quarantined under difficult and sometimes impossible conditions, that farm is effectively shut down for 20 days.

The rule is causing such problems during this, the important autumn sales period when most livestock farmers in and around South Lakeland do the lion's share of their buying and selling, that there has been talk in private of a revolt against the rule.

In public, few will admit to being prepared to break it themselves, but many will say that most others would be.

Chairman of Cumbria NFU Will Cockbain said: "The 20-day standstill is causing unbearable pressure on Cumbria's livestock farmers.

For many Cumbrian farmers it has meant that they have been unable to trade in the normal fashion this autumn and in the long-run their businesses will suffer greatly.

"We are pleased and relieved that we have not had a case of foot-and-mouth disease, but 12 months on we are still a very long way from being back to normal."

There have also been widespread problems administering the animal restrictions left by the epidemic - with Government forms being branded as "gibberish" by Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Collins, who has taken several complaints about the paperwork from farming constituents.

Indeed, Cumbria Trading Standards confirmed that the infamous AML1 form had significant flaws from the start.

The autumn sales period happens, unsurprisingly, every autumn, so the ministry cannot claim to have been caught off-guard by its arrival, especially when ministers were repeatedly warned that they would have to find a way to make the system work.

Their failure to make it work reflects badly on the Government and smacks of the indifference and ignorance of which it is so often accused.

The enormous numbers of people prepared to travel to the Liberty and Livelihood march in London is proof enough that people are generally dissatisfied with what they perceive to be Whitehall's negligence of rural areas and issues.

Many people in this area would agree with livestock auctioneer Kevin Kendal's assessment of the current farming situation as: "Another example of us telling the Government what needs to happen and them taking no notice at all."

One thing DEFRA could and should do to start winning back the trust of the farming community is to look at the impact of the 20-day standstill, reassess the need for its stringency, and come up with a better solution.

See our News - Foot-and-Mouth section for the full story.