With the world anti-global warming conference underway in Copenhagen, the NFU yesterday issued an angry press statement claiming that the Government was planning cuts to farmers and market gardeners who had introduced new technology – mainly the latest heating systems - to reduce carbon emissions.

After going through the fine print of last week’s pre-budget statement by Chancellor Alistair Darling, the union has discovered that grants to pig and poultry farmers and growers to pay for emission reducing equipment would be cut from 80% to 65%.

And the statement was highly suspicious that plans to make £92 million savings in rural development agreements “by more effective management” would simply mean another cut at a time when bigger farms would have to pay more national insurance contributions for employees.

NFU president Peter Kendall called the reduction in the climate change levy was a “kick in the teeth” and said the changes demonstrated a “disconnect” between the Treasury and the environment department Defra.

He added: “What makes this worse is the contradictory signal it sends when you have a desire from Defra to assist the farming sector to meet the challenge of climate change on the one hand and a decision by the Treasury which will discourage farmers and growers from participating in a scheme that has helped businesses reduce their environmental impacts on the other.”