THE Yorkshire Post is today calling for the Government to sort out the rural payments shambles once and for all and guarantee all farmers will receive money for next year by Christmas.
The Conservative Party campaign, called Make Them Pay By Christmas Day, is backed by this newspaper, along with the National Farmers' Union (NFU), Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) and Country Land and Business Association (CLA).
We are asking Ministers to do everything in their power to give every farmer in the region a portion of the total money due to them, before December 25.
The launch of the campaign came as farmers were warned that the disastrous countryside payments system inflicted on them will see absolutely no improvement in the coming year – leaving many facing the prospect of going out of business. Some are still to receive the money owed to them for last year's payments.
Rural Payments Agency chief executive Tony Cooper has revealed that after months of anguish in rural communities across Yorkshire it will be "immensely challenging" to deliver the 2006 payments – to see farmers through next year. He said "significant progress" in the near future is "unlikely".
It comes a week before Environment Secretary David Miliband is due to unveil his plans for allocating the next farm payments.
Concerned farmers' associations and rural Yorkshire MPs said a repetition of the last year was unthinkable, and demanded urgent and tangible improvements.
Supporters stressed that if 80 per cent of Scottish farmers could receive at least three-quarters of their payments by Christmas Day last year, there was no reason why Ministers could not achieve similar rates in England this year.
Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill, a farmer himself, said he believed there was no reason why part payments could not be made by Christmas to farmers and tenants who applied last year.
"It would help farmers enormously at this particularly difficult time of year," he said. "Farmers have to buy Christmas presents for their children too. There
could be a temporary payment, based on last year's application, and then it could be topped up according to how much they get under this year's scheme."
Mr Goodwill added: "I give the Yorkshire Post my 100 per cent backing in this campaign and hope that every MP in Yorkshire signs up." Farmers' organisations also welcomed the Yorkshire Post's support.
A spokeswoman for the NFU in Yorkshire said last night: "We are delighted the Yorkshire Post is joining the campaign.
"No-one wants to see a repeat of the real hardship suffered by many Yorkshire farmers this year and the NFU has for months been urging the Government to take action to avoid a similar fiasco in 2007."
George Dunn, chief executive of the TFA, said: "It's really good that the Yorkshire Post is getting behind this campaign because of the suffering experienced by the whole industry last year.
"The cost to farmers has been estimated at around £20m in bank charges, but the stress and strain has been immeasurable.
"Anything which puts pressure on Defra on making part payments is good news as far as we're concerned."