Food and farming minister Lord Rooker embarked on a tour of flood-hit Worcestershire and Gloucestershire last Friday, organised by the NFU.
Along with visits to cattle and dairy farmers, Lord Rooker was taken to Severn Stoke in the Severn Valley, where more than 2,000 acres of grass land, vegetables and potatoes are under six foot of water.
Steve Watkins of Sheepcote Farm, Sandford, has lost 1,000 acres of potatoes, spring onions, peas, sweetcorn, parsnips and carrots.
The minister also visited David Revell, who has lost 20 acres of runner beans, 10 acres of pumpkins and six acres of broad beans. Lord Rooker was told the total losses for that part of the Severn Vale could end up at half a million pounds.
After the visit, Lord Rooker said he was grateful for the opportunity to see the extent of the devastation for himself. He gave no commitment to making emergency payments, but said the government would need to measure the scale of the problem across the country before making any decisions.
The NFU said Lord Rooker was also extremely sympathetic to the point made strongly by the number of farmers he met, that the one thing the government can do without EU authorisation is to make sure the single payment is made early and in full.
The NFU has also welcomed the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry into the 2007 floods which was announced last week, and is keen to use the inquiry to provide evidence to identify where there have been failings and help provide constructive solutions to prevent any similar problems in the future.
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