FARMERS have described the desperate situation facing many across the region as the true cost of a devastatingly bad summer and extreme recent weather takes hold.

Stories of hardship are emerging particularly from hill farmers as Prince Charles personally agreed to donate £50,000 to several farming charities, including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI).

A spokesman for the Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “Farming is facing a crisis of unprecedented proportion. Catastrophic weather conditions and the second wettest year on record risks battering farmers and consumers alike as crops fail to thrive in soaked fields and the rising price of grain makes feeding livestock even more expensive in 2013.”

Christopher Dean, who farms near Settle, said he applied for a RABI grant after a very difficult year.

“The past 12 months have been a hand to mouth existence,” he said. “The cost of feed for cattle and sheep went up at least £50 per ton last year.

“Lamb prices are dropping, feed prices have risen, and the price of milk has not gone up to balance this out.”

He said the grant had ‘saved’ his family.

“I wouldn’t have been able to carry on without their support and I can’t thank them enough,” he said. “Farmers will carry on doing what they do best and as long as they can feed their livestock then they’re happy; we’re not out to become millionaires.”

RABI said the most requests for help in 2012 came from North Yorkshire, where £143,000 was given in grants.

And the Prince’s Countryside Fund, which released an emergency fund of £500,000 to farming charities RABI, RSABI, The Addington Fund, Farm Community Network and Rural Support earlier this spring, reported that upland farmers earn on average only £6,000 each year.

Stuart Lambert, a fourth generation beef and lamb farmer at Lupton, recently welcomed Prince Charles to his home at Kitridding Farm.

“One of the things he said was he was keen for youngsters to get a good education and achieve qualifications, which the Prince’s Countryside Fund helps with,” Mr Lambert said. “My son has been funded to get a few qualifications, including for JCB diggers and dumper handling.

“It is very difficult for young people to work on their fathers’ farms; the work is there but the money is not.

“Should a farm come up to run my son is far better qualified when it comes to putting an application in.”

He said the last year had been ‘financially the worst’ he has known in 40 years of farming, as problems around animal diseases and high costs created the perfect storm with the weather.

“I am just hoping we are going to have a reasonable summer,” he said. “Farmers are notoriously bad at being honest about how hard things are when they talk to each other. If you want to know the true effect, speak to a farmer’s wife - they are the ones who suffer.

“We would all like to enjoy life a little bit more but the way farming has been over the last 40 years, there just hasn’t been the money to reinvest.

“Isn’t it ironic that the world is short of food, farmers produce food, and farmers are not making any money.”

Lord Curry, Trustee of The Prince’s Countryside Fund issued a rallying call to the public to not only support farmers by buying British produce, but also, if they can, to help replenish the emergency funds.

“People will look outside to the fresh green fields and think we’re over the worst, but the reality is this will have a long term knock on impact. Many farmers will struggle to find the money to put diesel in their tractors this summer.

“Farming faces an uncertain future, in an uncertain economy. We need to ensure that those who look after the land and rear our food are able to continue to preserve the family farm for generations to come.”