A GOVERNMENT scheme to encourage farmers to be more environmentally aware has been welcomed by the community in Teesdale where the initiative will be piloted.

The scheme is designed to help upland farmers grow crops and keep animals in a more environmentally friendly way.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has pledged £500m in the next three years to help sustain farming nationwide.

Barnard Castle is one of four areas selected for the pilot scheme, and farmers taking part will be instrumental in how Defra decides to implement the scheme in 2005.

The Government decided to introduce the scheme because farmers' subsidies for food production are being reduced by the European Union.

The EU wants to encourage farmers to be more environmentally friendly and more support has been pledged to farming communities taking part in conservation schemes.

The scheme will test the popularity of conservation initiatives and look at the retention of low-input pasture land, meadows and the maintenance of drystone walls.

Richard Betton, a hill farmer from Middleton-in-Teesdale and a member of the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Service, said it could prove an important boost for farmers after the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

He said: "The fact that Barnard Castle and the surrounding area has been chosen shows that the quality of local farmers has been noted by those overseeing the pilot scheme. Farmers need all the help they can get at the moment."

Annabelle Morshead, chairman of the National Farmers' Union's technical services in County Durham, said: "Farmers have been looking after the countryside for generations, and this scheme should allow them to continue that conservation work.

"A key element to the success of any future scheme is to ensure a simple and straightforward application process."