LIVESTOCK farmers may need some kind of ongoing support as Britain moves towards a new agricultural policy on leaving the EU, a Minister told an audience in Craven.

During a visit to Skipton Auction Mart, Farming Minister George Eustice said the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) was working on a new post-Brexit policy framework and said his visit to Yorkshire was part of efforts to ensure the views of individual farmers were heard.

More than 50 people attended the event last Thursday, which was hosted by Skipton MP Julian Smith.

A campaigner for leaving the EU, Mr Eustice said there was now an opportunity to consider the first principles of a good farming policy and how to deliver it. In contrast he said the Common Agricultural Policy was "far too rules-based" and tried to "regulate everything a farmer might conceivably try to do with his land".

He said: "My three years as a Farming Minister led me to conclude that there must be a better way of doing things."

Asked whether farming might be used as a "bargaining chip" in future trade negotiations, he said Defra would lead on deals involving agriculture, and stressed the importance of the industry.

Mr Eustice said changes would not "happen overnight" and by the end of this Parliament farmers would be given a very clear picture of what to expect after 2020.

He questioned why farming needed income support, saying fairness in the supply chain and fairer sharing of risk should be examined instead, adding the Government should help farmers invest in new technology and replace equipment and recognise the industry's "unique exposure to risk".

He wanted to see more locally based agri-environment schemes, and said: "We have some of the best animal health standards in the world and we should be prepared to reward farmers for that, particularly if we are going into a global market."

On trade he acknowledged the importance of lamb to many at the meeting, saying everyone was concerned about the impact of New Zealand imports.

But he said representatives from New Zealand had suggested to him that it and the UK might work together to increase demand in places like the US and could share the market, "half the year for them and half the year for us".

Responding to questions about farm payments, including concerns about the impact of the possible loss of subsidies on areas such as the Yorkshire Dales, Mr Eustice said the Government recognised that some farming sectors, particularly livestock, were more vulnerable.

He said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that she does not want 'cliff edges'. There will be some kind of transitional period form one to the next."

Officials were looking at a number of alternative systems to income support. "In the case of livestock we may need some kind of ongoing support," he added.

Following the meeting Mr Eustice and Mr Smith visited Craven College’s Auction Mart Campus, where they met college principal Robert Bellfield and had the chance to speak with some of the students there.

The campus focuses on agricultural courses such as dry stone walling, horticulture and animal care.

Mr Smith said: ‘It was a pleasure to be able to introduce the Farming Minister to Robert Bellfield and his students at Craven College. The students were able to tell George about their plans for the future and how they tie in with their studies at the auction mart campus.’