THE farmer heading the government inquiry into the future of the food and farming industry has warned that change is inevitable.

Sir Donald Curry told the annual meeting of his home Northumberland County NFU that the world trade organisation talks and enlargement of the European Union meant the industry had to change.

He said constant reforms and changes had left the industry in a mess.

"It is a mixed up, confused and complicated muddle and no one has yet defined where we are supposed to be going and what the aim is," he said.

It was clear the industry could not continue as it was.

"It is not sustainable in its current form. Change is inevitable and most farmers would agree with that," he said. "I think that change may well have to be fairly substantial."

For reasons of confidentiality, Sir Donald could not give any details of his Commission's likely recommendations.

But he said, things would not change on the day the findings were published. "The changes that are being looked at are of a long-term nature and will take time to deliver," said Sir Donald.

He wanted to make sure that change would be transitional, giving the industry time to adapt.

He could not guarantee that the government or Europe would accept everything put forward. "But I would be disappointed if the government did not endorse the bulk of our findings," he said.

The commission has been given until the end of January to report and Sir Donald has requested that the findings are immediately put into the public domain.

He revealed that the commission had received 1,300 written responses with almost as many from Women's Institutes as from farmers.

The ten-strong team had made six regional visits and met a vast range of groups in London on a daily basis for weeks.

Some of the most common questions that had cropped up included whether farmers were valued as food producers; were they to become park keepers; did consumers care whether their food was British; was farm assurance important and why farmers don't get paid for it.

"Expectations seem very high; it is regarded as a very important review, some have said it is the most important since 1947," said Sir Donald.

l Mr Malcolm Corbett, outgoing chairman of Northumberland County NFU, was unanimously backed when he spoke against the proposed 20-day standstill on the movement of livestock.

He said it would not have prevented the spread of foot-and-mouth and would put an unbearable strain on farmers.

In any case, he said, FMD was blamed on a pig farm, yet the pig sector had worked under a 20-day movement standstill for more than 20 years.

The meeting unanimously backed a resolution from the Morpeth branch which called on the NFU nationally to fight any future standstill on livestock movements.

Mr Corbett also described as nonsense suggestions for the individual identification of sheep. He argued that it could only be done through an electronic system but the technology was not yet available.

The meeting elected Mr Stoker Frater as county chairman and Mr Foster Hall, vice-chairman.

Figures released at the Northumberland County NFU annual meeting showed the total national membership stood at 135,346 of which 56,761 were farmers and growers and 65,074 were countryside members.

NFU Countryside is open to anyone who lives, works or cares about the countryside. For an annual fee of £39.50 members receive a glossy magazine and access to professional/legal services and a range of discounts.

The full farming membership nationally had fallen from 59,700 in the previous year.

Total income from subscriptions stands at just over £18m, of which £14.5m is paid by farmers and growers.

Total North-East membership stands at 13,360, of which 6,739 are farmers - down 5.63pc on the previous year. Regional income was £2.2m of which farmers paid £1.7m

In Northumberland, membership is 944 members, of which 658 are countryside members and other categories such as retired professionals.