EUROPEAN law which bans farmers from using their combine harvesters on wet soil has been criticised by prominent members of the House of Lords.
Former Commons Speaker, Baroness Boothroyd, described the laws as "ludicrous" while former National Farmers' Union (NFU) president Lord Plumb referred to them as "one of the most stupid ever" during question time in the House of Lords.
The regulat
ions, imposed by the European Union, have been waived several times over the past two years because of wet weather at harvest times.
Baroness Boothroyd said: "British farmers are the best judges of whether or not to use heavy machinery on their wet fields.
"When do we expect this ludicrous EU rule or regulation to be abandoned and British farmers use their common sense?"
Tory Lord Plumb added: "This is one of the most stupid laws that ever came out of Brussels. If we are talking about damaging soil, why not consider the problem area in Glastonbury?"
Environment Minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said no farmers had been found in breach of the English standard and told peers: "This is about protection of the soil and minimising damage to it.
"We will look to review the system to see if there can be more flexibility in future."
But crossbencher Lord Elystan-Morgan countered: "The issue is not one of flexibility but of basic sanity. If the land is too wet to support the combine harvester, it is surely too wet to have the corn harvested." The call came on the same day figures showed that farmers had produced a large harvest this year, in spite of heavy rain late in the summer.
The NFU's UK harvest survey showed an increase in wheat production of almost a third compared with last year's harvest, which was marred by summer floods. Spring barley production was up 27 per cent, the NFU estimates, while winter barley was up by about 10.5 per cent.
Ian Backhouse, who farms from near Goole and is the chairman of the NFU combinable crops board, said: "Despite the exceptionally difficult harvest, and losses to yield for later harvested crops, 2008 shows what has been achieved by farmers genuinely responding to markets combined with exceptional growing conditions for cereal crops here and abroad."
