The British public needs to be convinced of the vital link between consuming British beef and protecting the environment. The message was delivered to members of the Country Land and Business's Dyfed, Glamorgan and Monmouth AGM, held in Gower, by President Mark Hudson.

Mr Hudson, who farms near Ruthin, said it needed to be stressed that the pleasure of eating British beef didn't just lie with its much higher eating, health, and welfare qualities. Consumers needed to be continually reminded that it was also a means of keeping cattle grazing the lowlands as well as the hills, with all the attendant environmental benefits.

"If returns from beef production don't improve substantially very shortly then we will have a very serious contraction in the national beef herd", he warned. "And that will be to the long term national detriment.

"It will mean that we will no longer be able to enjoy some of the best beef in the world. It will also be detrimental to the wider environment and especially to the hills.

It may seem obvious, but generally people don't make that link between the landscape they cherish and the food on their plate".

Mr Hudson told members that the CLA was working hard to drive home the message to politicians and opinion formers, as well as to the general public. It was also up to individual farmers and land managers to get the message across at a local level.

He reported on last Friday's (14 October) meeting with Lord Bach of Lutterworth, the Minister responsible for Sustainable Food and Farming, at the DEFRA offices in Whitehall. Mr Hudson and other key stakeholders in the beef industry discussed the nature of the problems besetting the industry.

Lord Bach had said he wanted to explore how the various interests within the sector might work together to secure a sustainable future for the beef sector, consistent with the prevailing competition rules. The Government wanted to help achieve this outcome.

Environmental Stewardship - the first million hectares applied for