I HOPE you all enjoyed Okehampton Show. I certainly did. It seemed to have an even friendlier atmosphere than usual. Congratulations to fellow Sourton farmer Roger Alford on being President this year.

Standing in the NFU tent, looking across to Dartmoor, many commented on how beautiful it is. Little do they know the anguish going on amongst Dartmoor farmers at the moment.

The Government has announced its proposals to change hill support from headage payments (so much per animal) to area payments (so much per hectare farmed). This is complex but up to 80 per cent of hill farmers under the current proposals are going to be worse off. These changes, of course, originated from Europe where they do not seem to understand their full consequences.

The NFU has managed to persuade the British Government to put in place a safety net for the first three years of these changes but goodness knows what happens after that!

The NFU and the government will keep the European commission fully informed of the implications of these changes over the next three years in the hope that we can bring some common sense to the situation.

Being a dairy farmer, I am pleased, though sceptical, of talk of the milk price going up at last in the autumn. The NFU deputy president, Tim Bennet, was in talks with Safeway among others to inform them of the real cost of producing milk and the consequences of the price to farmers remaining at around 16p per litre. The milk price will have to go up to allow for the increase in the cost of fertiliser and other rising costs just for incomes to stay the same and still lose money!

On a happier note, it is good to talk and have a laugh, so on Sunday September 3, Okehampton and Hatherleigh NFU are having a barbecue for members in aid of RABI and Devon Air Ambulance.

This will be at lunchtime 12-4pm, cost £1.50 entrance per adult, children 10 and under free. Ring the office for details.

The Devon NFU county meeting comes to our area on Wednesday September 20 at 7.30pm at Bratton Clovelly Village Hall. Come along and have your say.

The NFU website address is http://www.nfu.org.uk">www.nfu.org.uk