NFU president Ben Gill has called on the government to honour a commitment made at the organisations' Labour party fringe meeting this week not to continue swamping UK farmers and growers with red tape.

Gill debated the issue of environmental regulation with Defra secretary of state Margaret Beckett, and Barbara Young – chief executive of the Environment Agency (EA) - in a joint fringe meeting organised by the NFU and the EA. Around 70 people attended the meeting in Blackpool, which was chaired by Hilton Dawson MP.

Young highlighted the raft of environmental legislation faced by the industry from nitrate vulnerable zones to water and pollution regulations, and stated the need for a slimmer and more targeted method of regulation.

Gill strongly welcomed a statement by Beckett confirming the government's commitment to a sustainable economic future for farming. He said: 'Farmers know there is a need for sensible environmental legislation and, as regulator, the Environment Agency knows the practical difficulties that rafts of regulations can cause for farmers.

'I am pleased that the Environment Agency is recognising this and is working with the industry to find a way through the situation and to ensure proportionate, responsible regulation. We all agree that what farmers need is not more legislation but better regulation. Now this pledge to try to improve the situation must be honoured. Farmers want to farm the land, not paperwork.' Young added: 'The Environment Agency is pleased to be working with farmers for a sustainable future. We need to achieve a balance that will deliver environmental improvements without creating unnecessary regulatory burdens.'