ALMOST a century ago, the legendary Wolds waggoners were being bombarded in their trenches in lowland Europe.

Today, the farming fraternity is again suffering constant and heavy fire from every direction, and there is a temptation just to keep one's head down hoping the ammunition will run out.

That is not going to happen, and we need to find our way around the trenches to defend our position.

One basic principle we mustn't forget, is that in order to release either the Single Payment or any of the Stewardship schemes, all our land must be registered on the Rural Land Register.

Most farmers and especially those who have made IACS claims in previous years will have received digital maps which regrettably vary in accuracy.

Not only do they need checking carefully, but you also need to add in the other areas that have previously not been eligible for any support.

Grass paddocks, grazed orchards and game strips will all now rank for the Single Payment; and looking at the Entry Level Scheme, for example, the management of woodland edges receive 380 points per hectare, and field corner management 100 points per hectare.

And don't forget points mean prizes!

There are basically two routes for registering land:

If you have not been registered before and do not have an Agricultural Holding Number, then you need to do so through the RPA (Rural Payments Agency) at Northallerton. They have a customer service centre on 0845 6037777.

If you have already been registered but want to add more land or woodland, then you need to fill in an IACS 22 form which is also available from the local RPA office.

FWAG have produced a very simple single page advice sheet on registration and they can be contacted on (01609) 783632.

I am going to dip my toe very warily into this topical hot water which is now being stirred by an angry Lord Whitty.

Witless Whitty is chastising landlords for even daring to suggest that where new tenancies are created, the incoming tenant should be required to hand back the Single Payment entitlements on termination for a nominal payment.

The Minister was hoping that landowners would recognise the Single Payment as being an asset belonging to the occupier of the farm and thereafter properly compensate the outgoing tenant for handing it over.

I should be interested to hear what other readers think, but here a few indicators as to what might happen in the real world:

SP mania has really bitten deep and I suspect there will be very few acres in the country that will be not registered for entitlements on May 15.

This is a very different picture to that painted a year ago when we were told there would be large tracts of naked acres which would foster a ready trade in the entitlement market.

Although it is pure speculation, it seems there may not be enough spare unregistered land to create an open market for entitlements.

I can, however, see a trade being built up for exchanging entitlements such as those willing to swap their authorisations to grow potatoes; or a farmer on Stewardship who is prepared to sell his normal entitlements in exchange for set-aside entitlements.

But this would be a trade between the different types of entitlements rather than a stand alone value.

Tenancy agreements which pre-date 2003 are not likely to mention the Single Payment and tenants will be able to negotiate freely with the landlord as to what compensation should be paid for them to transfer the entitlements at the end of the tenancy.

In a relatively short time a valuation bench mark will be established for these end of tenancy transfers, but, suffice it to say, the professional opinion currently varies from zero to twice its face value.

For new tenancies that are being created at the moment, I have not come across a single agreement which has proposed to compensate the tenant for the Single Payment at the end of the tenancy.

But, on the other hand, neither has there been any reference to an ingoing payment for the tenant to pay when he takes the farm.

The traditional view of leaving the farm as you took it seems to have prevailed.

I am not sure why Lord Whitty is so cross as his Department wrote the ground rules.

I was not a little sickened to read of the blatant election ploy by new Labour to persuade the public sector to buy British food.

Margaret Beckett announced last week a major drive with the catchy title "Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI)".

It wasn't many moons ago, that the Ministry of Defence were trying to defend their indefensible policy of feeding the British Army on South American beef.

And for many years a lot of schools under Labour run councils had a positive policy of not purchasing British meat.

Our lady minister reminds me of Cassius with her lean and hungry look; and she is not to be trusted.

It is not often that one gets the squire of Brandsby away from base, but last weekend Richard Machin, our ladies and myself, took off for old town Palma in a blessedly empty isle of Majorca.

After walking round the island, we inevitably found our way to the meat counter of a supermarket where the origin of meat was no secret.

Most of the packages had three plain statements upon them indicating where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

With some of the pork products the answer was Denmark to all three questions.

With packets of beef and lamb, some were born in France, then raised and slaughtered in Spain.

But there were all sorts of combinations which left the customer free to choose.

The whole system seems so simple, and yet we in the UK are totally incapable of providing a clear and honest labelling system.

So Margaret Beckett, if you really want to help British agriculture why don't you stick proper labels on our food?

Out of interest, Richard and I shared a quite magnificent fillet of beef which mine host had no hesitation in telling us came from Argentina!

Following last week's pressure in the Gazette & Herald, the Government have caved in and re-written the Fire Arms Regulations to allow pigeons and magpies to be shot once more.

Isn't the power of this newspaper amazing?

David Sheppard has sent me the market report and wheat seems to be the most fragile with exports slowing up in the face of competition from France, Denmark and "any origin" feed wheat.

Brussels has taken a view, that they would rather export their intervention grain, as opposed to supporting the free market which isn't particularly good news for shippers who need £8 a tonne subsidy to compete.

The barley situation looks pretty steady and the area of winter sown crop has fallen by 11 per cent.

Forecasts for the spring barley are virtually unchanged, so you can take a view as to what will happen at harvest.

OSR is still dominated by the continued drought in southern Brazil.

But I gather there have been "rains on the plains" in South America this weekend which could signal an end to the weather driven bull market.

Forward 146 cattle including 43 bulls. 1912 sheep including 408 ewes. Medium steers to 126p O J Barker Snainton ave 103.2p heavy steers to 119p J L Gray Grindale ave 102.1p light heifers to 139p G I Marwood Harome ave 93.2p heavy heifers to 145p G I Marwood Harome ave 101.6p light bulls to 118p D Sunley Farndale ave 110.1p heavy bulls to 120p C Monkman Cropton ave 98.5p black and white bulls to 94p B Quarton Hovingham ave 83.2p light lambs to 160p Wytherstone's Farms Beadlam ave 160p standard hoggs to 110p D Wardle Bishop Wilton ave 102.4p medium hoggs to 118p Ramsay Brothers Scackleton ave 107.6p heavy hoggs to 113.4p N R Maw Rillington ave 100.1p overweight hoggs to 104.1p M Blackborough Sawdon ave 95.2p ewes to £50 Glaves and Macknay Staxton ave £33.80.

Updated: 11:07 Wednesday, March 16, 2005