The government yesterday paved the way for a radical shake-up of farming in the UK.

The report into the Future of Farming proposes a £500 million plan to put the environment and the consumer at the heart of farming policy.

Farmers yesterday expressed strong reservations over plans which would see existing farm subsidies being replaced with a system which rewards "green farming".

The NFU dimissed elements of the report as "stupid and immoral".

The move towards "quality not quantity" could be hit by Treasury objections to the costs involved, it has been claimed.