UNCERTAINTY among over the new Hill Farm Allowance scheme was laid to rest late last week when the Government announced the final form of its safety net scheme.

After an exhaustive round of meetings with senior NFU members, Agriculture Minister Nick Brown announced that the safety net would definitely provide 90 per cent compensation for losses in the first, and 80pc in the second year of teh new scheme which moves payments from a headage to an area basis.

The NFU were hailing the announcement as a major breakthrough and said the extra £4.8 million announced by MAFF was desperately needed extra funding which could help safeguard the future of hill farming in South Lakeland and other parts of Britain.

Senior NFU executives, including Cumbrian hill farmer and Less Favoured Area committee chairman, Peter Allen, had to restart talks with MAFF after problems with the scheme emerged, including fears that the Government's funding deal would leave the safety net payments well below the levels first agreed.

NFU president Ben Gill said: "The number of meetings held between NFU, MAFF and the Commission on this important issue has run well into double figures, we are extremely pleased that we have been listened to.

Not only have we clawed the situation back from the Commissions dire proposals of the last few weeks, but we have secured a better deal from MAFF than the one originally on the table in July."

Peter Allen said: "The announcement means those farmers who would have been badly hit by the changes will be cushioned from the worst effects for the first two years.

"This is what we have wanted to achieve right from the beginning - English hill farmers of whatever size should not lose out.

it also takes away the uncertainty being felt by hill farmers.