Scientists had discovered that the self-same woad, if grown in sufficient quantities, could obviate the need for some highly toxic chemicals in the dye-making industry - chemicals which, when dumped into rivers as they were in the Industrial Revolution, wiped out the salmon throughout most of England and turned many of our waterways into stinking sewers.

I made some enquiries and discovered that ACTIN was a loosely based group of scientists and administrators in government offices, university laboratories and private industry all working towards the same aim: finding new farm crops intended, not for food, but for industrial purposes.

Since then, I have followed the work of the group closely and they have come up with some great ideas.

They are studying, for instance, if coriander can be produced in industrial quantities because it gives of an extremely fine oil that can be used to lubricate highly delicate machines, or types of cereal grown, not for their grain, but to be used in the packaging industry - thus saving millions of trees used to make cardboard.

There are many more experiments like this underway and, this week, I received another ACTIN newsletter which said that talks were underway with DEFRA which will allow such research to "step up a gear."

Now this is good news at a time when Britain's eating tastes are changing rapidly and when, in particular, red-meat sales are dropping thanks to a whole series of health scandals. The farmers must diversify - and this seems an ideal way to do it.

However, I hope it is not too little, too late. The USA has established a powerful, well-funded agency to promote this drive and Germany is investing more than £8 million this year, rising to £16 million in 2002, to aim for similar goals.

MAFF, I always believed, was far too bogged-down in traditional farming practices to take on board new ideas. Let's hope that DEFRA, desperately casting around for a new direction in the wake of foot and mouth disease, pumps resources into ACTIN. Action with ACTIN is not a bad slogan.

It could mean greener fields, cleaner rivers, less air pollution and better habitats for wildlife - plus invaluable cash in our hard-hit farmers' pockets. Now there's a silver lining if ever there was one!