DEFRA yesterday eased some animal movement restrictions away from the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey - but there was little relief for Yorkshire Dales hill farmers who cannot take their stock to traditional autumn markets.

We need to find constructive options to get these lambs off farm where their welfare may be threatened

Douglas Chalmers - northern director, CLA

The easing of the rules was welcomed as a "step back to normality" for some sections of the livestock industry, said Douglas Chalmers, northern director of the Country Land and Business Association, but more needed to be done for hill farmers.

"We need to find constructive options to get these lambs off farm where their welfare may be threatened and into some scheme which offers a fair return for the producer and that doesn't adversely affect the market in general.

"Some animals, "stores", cannot be finished on their farms of birth, and need to be sold to other farmers for finishing. When restrictions stopped these transactions, many buyers will have simply decided to plough up their grass and grow cereals instead. The sale has been lost, and they're unlikely to buy stock next autumn either.

"There has been talk of paying Single Farm Payment and Hill Farm Allowance earlier, and while this would greatly help cash flows, this is not 'new' money. At the end of their financial year, farmers would still be looking at a business-threatening hole in their accounts".