Farmers in North Yorkshire found themselves between a rock and a hard place during the fuel crisis. ROB SIMPSON, of the Yorkshire and North East National Farmers Union explains why.

Fuel Protests: Motorists ground to a halt; panic buying swept the country's garages and shops; and one question was repeated millions of times over - "Where can I get some fuel?"

The fuel protests provoked a massive response from the public, both for and against, after they crippled the country and sent the Government into spin-overdrive.

Motorists in North Yorkshire queued for hours for fuel, but maintained their support for the demonstrators in the hope that fuel taxes would be slashed.

There was an incredible Blitz-spirit shared by most of country during the affair as neighbours put aside their differences to share experiences of how the crisis had affected them.

Invariably much has been written about the protest organisers, those involved on the picket lines, and those in the rolling blockades which gridlocked the nation's roads.

The protests brought together hauliers and farmers, fishermen and coach operators, in spontaneous demonstrations of anger and frustration at their rising business costs. And as their goal was ultimately to reduce the cost of fuel, their aims were shared by the vast majority of the population.

But frustration was also directed towards the protesters as more and more people saw their lives and businesses hit by the crisis.

In North Yorkshire's farming community, emotions were running high on both sides.

Everything moved on and off farms is done by hauliers; whether it is machinery, seed, animals, fertiliser, grain, feed or milk. Haulage costs have risen steeply in the past few years with the diesel price increases, and hauliers have inevitably had to pass some of their extra costs back to farmers.

The depth of anger displayed by farmers and the rural community to fuel taxation in this country should perhaps then, be of no surprise to the Government. Fuel taxes hit rural people the hardest; farming communities in isolated parts of North Yorkshire will suffer the most from increasing road fuel prices and taxation.

But now is not a good time of year for many farmers in Yorkshire and the North East. The wet and cold weather at the end of August and in September has meant cereal crops are still awaiting harvest, and the grain which is being harvested is wet and needs drying.

So when farmers' fuel supplies for combines, tractors and grain dryers started running out because of the pickets, their reaction was one of obvious dismay.

At a time of rock-bottom prices for grain, milk and livestock, the fuel shortages may have been the final straw for some farmers.

Anyone wanting proof that farmers are suffering need only to look at the latest figures - in just one year alone, 22,000 farmers left the industry.

Ultimately, farmers are fighting to reduce their costs at every opportunity to help improve profitability. But their attempts at improving efficiency and competing with their European counterparts are being blocked by higher fuel costs, higher fertiliser costs, adverse exchange rates, and more expensive regulations.

Certainly fuel prices are having a critical impact on farming at the moment. The demonstrations are a clear reflection of the desperate fears of the farming community on this issue.

For British agriculture, these extortionate fuel prices drive a further hole through businesses trying to remain afloat and compete in today's global market.

This message has been driven home for some time by the NFU, not just to the Ministry of Agriculture, but to the Chancellor himself and the oil companies.

We have made it clear that fuel prices of this kind serve no one's interest, nor Britain's economy.

We are also joining forces with other representatives of British industry to form an action group aimed at urging the Government to lower road use taxes.