AGRICULTURE in Yorkshire saw its overall finances boosted slightly during 2001 and 2002, although some sectors of the farming industry had a more difficult year.

A study by Askham Bryan College, which does not include data from farms hit by foot and mouth disease (FMD) so as not to distort comparable figures, shows that in the financial year ending April 2002, average net farm income rose by just over £5,000 to £17,625.

While some farm types, notably dairy farms, showed a significant improvement others saw a deterioration in their financial position.

Mervyn Lewis, head of the Rural Business Research Unit at the college, which studied 270 farms in the Yorkshire area, said: "There has been a small, but welcome, increase in farm profitability for the 2001/02 financial year.

"This increase is mainly due to better incomes on dairy farms which saw their best results for at least four years. This was brought about by higher milk prices.

"However, the agricultural sector as a whole is still in recession with nearly all the main types of farming showing a negative return on capital."

The report shows that lowland dairy farms had their best year since 1995/6, almost entirely due to the recovery in the milk price which rose by 19 per cent to average 19.8 pence per litre.

Updated: 11:36 Monday, January 13, 2003