THE English public should value the contribution the farming industry made to its stunning countryside, said a French farmer who addressed the meet.

M Pierre Fabregue, general manager of the Haute-Vienne agricultural chamber, said the British landscape was excellent and reflected the care and management of the country's farmers.

"I am surprised English agriculture is criticised by the English public because, when we come from France, we find that your landscape is excellent, better than in France," he said.

M Fabregue is a member of the Bowland transnational farmers' group, based in Lancashire and set up last year to allow European farmers to see each other's operating methods, exchange ideas and promote better communication.

Ireland, which the group visited last December, was closer to France in the way the agriculture industry was run, he said. Farms were much smaller, there were more co-operatives and a better level of government support.

Visits to English farms highlighted very efficient methods with well-thought-out genetic management, good pasture practices and advanced animal welfare. Agri-environmental schemes had good results on the landscape and biodiversity.

Less positive aspects of the English farming industry included the poor level of support, both financial and from the public. "I was very surprised there is less support for the English farm than in France," said M Fabregue.

Sheep and cattle artificial insemination and sheep identification were not used as widely as in France, where farmers aimed for more genetic improvement in their flocks and herds.

Another group member, Mr Patrick Kelly, a dairy farmer from Donegal, in North-West Ireland, outlined how farming in his country differed from that in England.

About 90pc of Irish farms were family owned and most were small - an average of 29 hectares compared to the 70 hectare UK average. Most were made up of two or more parcels of land and short-term leasing was common, causing high land prices and little security for the tenant.

The price of land rose from about £4,000 an acre in 1990 to more than £10,000 last year and many farmers used their land as an asset against which to borrow.

Production was not very efficient, particularly on those farms split into several parcels of land.

The Irish farming population was an ageing one, with 50pc of farmers aged over 55 and a marked fall in the number of young people going into the industry.

Government policy, which gave up to £5,600 to new entrants, was having some effect, as was tax relief and a farm retirement scheme providing up to £12,000 a year for farmers aged over 55 to retire and hand over production to the younger generation. "The retirement scheme is one of the most important schemes in the country," said Mr Kelly. "It has been very successful in transferring land and production to the younger generation."

Part-time farming was also on the increase in Ireland and estimates showed that only 20pc of farmers would be full-time by 2010. "More than 50pc of farms have some kind of off-farm income," he said.

Irish society was still very rural-based but that was set to change and farmers could benefit through the Bowland group by looking at how UK farmers operated in an increasingly urban country.

Mr Thomas Binns, a Lancashire farmer and leader of the Bowland group, said the organisation was born in response to scepticism in the UK towards Europe.

"We decided to go first hand and see that our counterparts in Ireland and France, initially, were operating under the regulations from Brussels," he said. The group has since been extended to other EC countries.

"Farmers, politicians and agencies need to get out and about in Europe to try to understand the issues," he said. "French farmers from the centre of their country did not understand the BSE control measures and the implications of the 30-month scheme. That is a communication error of the highest order and we as farmers must take back the responsibility."

The group hoped to open up free exchange of information at farm level and improve communication between the agricultural industry across Europe.

l Details of the Bowland group are available from Mr Binns at Heckling Farm, Downham, Clitheroe, BB7 4BX