A NEW farmer-led Northern Hill Farming Panel has been launched.

The panel, whose chairman is Upper Teesdale farmer Richard Betton, will seek to represent hill farmers in future discussions with Government ministers and officials on how they can build a more sustainable future for farming in the northern uplands.

The panel was first proposed by the board of the Northern Upland Chain Local Nature Partnership (NUCLNP) which was established in 2012.

It includes more than 50 organisations and covers the Northumberland and Yorkshire Dales National Parks; and the North Pennines, Nidderdale and Forest of Bowland Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB's).

Early issues to be considered by the new panel include Brexit and the implementation and limitations of the new Countryside Stewardship scheme.

Local meetings will be held over the autumn and winter to find hill farmers from within the two Parks and AONBs to become panel members.

Mr Betton, who also works for the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support service and is on the NFU Hill and Uplands Farming Group, said: "The panel agreed that there is a need to communicate the importance to society of maintaining active hill farmers in terms of environmental benefits, skills, knowledge and social vitality. The resource of farmers itself is valuable and once lost cannot be replaced.

"The result of the EU Referendum could be viewed as a disaster for UK agriculture especially in the hills. It is however a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to design a new system that underpins a vibrant and thriving upland farming community with the skills to deliver a sustainable environment on the back of their agricultural production."

An interim panel met in Middleton-in-Teesdale for the first time at the end of July.