WHEAT yields in the North-East are falling, says the National Farmers' Union.

Average yield and total output have both dropped, despite an increase in the area planted, which is up by 6.57 per cent.

Against a national increase in the average yield of two per cent, the North- East has seen yields fall by nearly 2.5 per cent.

The poor figures are attributed largely to one of the wettest summers for decades and further problems are expected as a result of the poor quality of the grain.

"It is largely thanks to modern technology that we were able to salvage much of the harvest in terms of quantity, albeit at a high cost to the producer," said Stewart Vernon, who farms at Heighington, near Darlington, and is a member of the regional combinable crops commodity board.

"In previous years, we would have struggled to get anything from such a wet summer, but the real issue we face is that of quality, which is very low across the board.

"It is an issue made worse by the fact that, throughout Europe, the harvest has been good and this will make it even harder for North-East farmers to find a market for their grain, almost all of which is only suitable for animal feed that, at the moment, is attracting very low prices."

The NFU's harvest survey shows wheat production will rise by ten per cent this year.

This places the national wheat yield at 15.8 million tonnes, a figure that has been achieved as a result partly of increased planted area (up eight per cent) and slightly increased yield (two per cent).