THE director general of the National Trust paid a visit to the Lake District to show support for some of the charity' s tenant farmers who have suffered as a result of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Fiona Reynolds spent a morning talking to farmers in the Duddon Valley, where there has been a number of confirmed cases and slaughter of livestock.

Ms Reynolds said that the farmers she had spoken to were unsure of what lay ahead and needed practical support and ideas on how they could move forward.

"We heard about what a terrible time they have had and the deep commitment they still have to their farms but also their real anxiety that there is no solution on the table yet about how we can support them as they replace their livestock in ways that are viable and practical."

The trust has 93 tenant farmers in the Lake District and, as one of the major landowners in the area, it is keen to start the process of consultation and debate on the future of agriculture.

Last week it published a manifesto setting out some of its ideas for a more sustainable industry, which called for a radical overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy, more subsidies to help farmers process, market and sell their produce locally and a new 'green mark' for food produced to high environment standards which rewards farmers with premium prices.

Ms Reynolds told the Gazette: "The future for farming in the Lake District has to feel almost like a contract between making sure that farming here is viable and people can actually make an income from the land, but also in a way that delivers all the other things we all want from this environment including access to the countryside, which the farmers actually understand the need for very well."

Speaking about the delicate relationship between tourism and agriculture, which the crisis has highlighted, Ms Reynolds added that it was important for the two industries to work together

to gain positive benefits from the landscape.

During her visit, Ms Reynolds, who was accomp-anied by the charity's North West regional director Oliver Maurice, also met pupils from Stramongate School, Kendal, who were taking part in a NT educational day out on Loughrigg Terrace and Upper Deerbolts Wood.

She added that it was crucial that young people were encouraged to think about and get involved in environmental and sustainable issues.

"Education is part of our farming vision," said Ms Reynolds.

"Unless the next generation understand where our food comes from it's going to be very hard for them as adults to show the sort of support for the farmers that they are desperately going to need."