FIFTEEN thousand jobs have gone from the farming industry in England since the end of foot-and-mouth.

In response to the official Government figures, the NFU has warned that the very fabric of the countryside is being completely torn apart.

The figures show the biggest exodus of farmers from the industry since the Second World War and reveal that 8,600 farmers shut up shop and a further 6,600 farm workers went in the 12 months to June this year.

The 4pc drop in the workforce takes the total job losses from the industry in England alone in the last six years to more than 67,000. The figures for Wales and Scotland are released separately.

NFU president Ben Gill said: "Throughout the crisis farmers have been forced to make staff redundant, work increasingly long hours, or even take on a part-time job to keep the business going.

"These figures show that for many there are no other savings to be made and for the first time we are seeing a greater number of farmers than workers leaving the industry."

The NFU says the foot-and-mouth outbreak; the collapse in farm gate prices; the strength of the pound, and heavy-handed regulation by Government have all contributed to the crisis in agriculture.

The figures also show a 2pc drop in the land in agricultural production; a shrinking of the national beef, dairy and pig herds; a fall in sheep and poultry numbers, and a reduction in the land laid to orchards and the area in soft fruit production.

"In the last two-and-a-half years, we have had promise after promise that there will be a change in the Government's attitude to so many things," said Mr Gill. "These figures serve to illustrate that we can wait no longer. Our profitability has collapsed because of falling farm incomes and ever-rising regulatory costs.

"Farmers want to become more focused on the market, they want to become more integrated in the food chain and they are prepared to compete with others, but when they see their European competitors doing so much better, it is little wonder that they are increasingly angry at the lack of progress in the delivery of an environment in which they can change and in which they are treated proportionately by the regulators.