AN Esk Valley farmer is sowing the seeds for a hi-tech future.

Neil Harland says technology helps him no end with the running of his 60-acre hill sheep farm near Danby and he is keen to spread the word among the rural community - especially as farms and businesses begin the long haul back from foot-and-mouth.

He is so keen on the cause that he recently addressed media delegates at a conference focusing on rural recovery in the aftermath of last year's crisis.

Mr Harland, who is 39 and also works as a community technician for East Cleveland, spoke on the importance of computer-aided farming techniques such as electronic record-keeping and commercial representation on the web.

He is an active contributor to many rural IT initiatives, such as the provision of computer training for farmers and organising awareness sessions.

His family has been tenant of Clitherbecks Farm since 1954 and he and his wife, Catherine, now share the work between them.

After leaving university, Mr Harland went into electronic engineering but his firm was sold and two separate redundancies followed. Luckily, he met colleagues with whom he went on to set up a web site design business.

He and Mark Gibson from Eaglescliffe spent most of 2000 drawing up a web page for the Esk Valley.

"I enjoy hi-tech, but everyone needs good physical work," said Mr Harland. "You can have some of your best ideas while digging out a drain.

"I am so lucky to have the two."

He and Mr Gibson are trying to help local businesses by aiming for a substantial grant so they can offer quality web sites at affordable rates.

Without IT work, he admits, he could not keep the farm going.

"Like other farmers we are trying to get through this bad patch," said Mr Harland. "Hi-tech is an extra tool to help out. The amount of paperwork in farming these days makes it invaluable and the internet side is also important with access to information."

He says that, although there is resistance to using computers, many younger farmers are breaking that down and even some traditionalists are seeing the benefits.

"It's worth looking ahead as Defra has already made noises about conducting the bulk of its business via e-mail," he said.

Five days a week, Mr Harland works at the Terminus computer learning centre in Saltburn in a project funded by One NorthEast and he is also an IT tutor