THE Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority this week agreed a policy for supporting the long-term future of sustainable farming in its area.

This follows the recent report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, which recognised the need to transfer public subsidies from production towards environmental enhancement and broader rural development schemes.

The authority will now work to influence national and European farming policy in ways which not only conserve and enhance the environment of the national park, but also ensure the long-term economic wellbeing of its communities.

Steve Macar, authority chairman, said the park's special landscape depended on the way the land was farmed. "As an authority, we have a duty to try to make sure any changes in agricultural policy add value to this landscape while bringing benefit to our communities," he said.

Although it wanted an end to subsidies, the policy commission had stated that, where land management and farming worked to safeguard the value of the countryside, there was a case for redirecting them.

"Farming in this national park could be well-placed to benefit economically from this shift in policy," said Mr Macar. "If we, with the area's farmers, grasp this opportunity, Dales farmers are more likely to be able to enjoy increased funding for sustainable land management."

Upland farming would never compete with the lowlands on food production, but recognising the value of the park landscape to the wider public through redirected subsidies would at last give upland farmers proper reward for their role in maintaining and enhancing it.

The park says public subsidies focused on production and economic pressures to increase livestock production have pushed farmers into a more intensive use of grassland and the greater use of fertilisers, which has done little to protect or improve the park environment.

The authority will make a case for better rewards for farmers who take a more holistic approach to their holdings, including those investing in woodlands, creating or improving wildlife habitats or playing a greater role in providing public access.

David Butterworth, chief executive of the Dales park authority, said: "Those who farm in harmony with the landscape, invest in the landscape and help to safeguard the beauty of this national park should be encouraged and rewarded."

The public paid the subsidies and nowadays they wanted that money used to improve the rural environment rather than destroy it. "We are signalling the way we want agriculture to go in this national park," said Mr Butterworth. "We believe this will bring benefits to the landscape and the farmers who grasp the opportunity to farm in a more environmentally friendly way; who at last stand to reap a fairer share of the subsidy cake."

In addition to pressing for policy changes the authority has also identified action it can take to support local farmers directly. It will develop the agri-environment schemes on offer in the park and work to increase the funding available under them; develop its "whole-farm" approach and provide a more co-ordinated advice service to farmers.

It also plans to contribute to local initiatives to develop, brand or market local products embodying environmental benefits, and work with others to develop demonstration farms as examples of best-practice in sustainable farming