0THE Tenant Farmers' Association has set out key issues for members to test how their parliamentary candidates stand.

Reg Haydon, national chairman, said a key theme of Sir Don Curry's Policy Commission report of 2002 was that farmers needed to reconnect with consumers. "The TFA wholeheartedly agrees but, three years on, there are still too many state-influenced barriers," he said.

EU state aid rules prevented Government from helping farmers to market products to domestic consumers.

"More worryingly, the marketing budgets of the major levy bodies (MLC, HGCA and MDC) into which farmers pay are also tied up in these rules," he said. "This is exacerbated by the use of supermarket own brands and unclear, or missing, country of origin labelling.

"The next government must tackle restrictive state aid rules, unclear labelling and the power of supermarkets."

Mr Haydon said the TFA had worked hard over the last two years to build a consensus for changes that should be introduced to improve agricultural tenancy legislation. It was important the next government took that forward.

He said there were, however, areas where, for the sake of consensus, the TFA had accepted alternatives to legislation while landlords were encouraged to follow best practice.

These areas included the provision of consents for tenants to diversify; the inclusion of non-farm income in assessing the livelihood of potential successors to tenancies, and the provision of fair compensation to tenants required to pass Single Payment Scheme entitlements to landlords at the end of tenancies.

"Alongside the guidance, the Government has given a commitment to return to legislative solutions if landlords do not adhere to the guidance," said Mr Haydon. The next government must reiterate that commitment.

Mr Haydon said it was time for Defra to stop "pussyfooting around" on bovine TB, which had been allowed to rampage virtually unhindered by the current Government.

"The scientific evidence from a host of sources points the finger of blame at infected badgers," he said. "The next government must introduce a controlled cull of infected badgers in existing and potential TB hot spot areas."

Mr Haydon said the burden on farmers of paperwork and inspections increased daily, despite politicians seeking to assure farmers they were doing all they could to reduce the burden.

"When the availability of labour on farms is at its lowest historical level, it is little wonder stress levels on farms are at there highest," said Mr Haydon. "The next government must back words with actions. We need to cut quangos, cut inspection visits and regulate last - rather than first."