A LEADING farming organisation has called on livestock producers to add value to their product by using more imagination.

The National Farmer's Union (NFU) is concerned about the price farmers are receiving for their lamb which has fallen this spring, partly because of an influx of imported meat from New Zealand and the difficulty some farmers are having selling older animals.

The NFU is urging large wholesale buyers such as supermarkets not to turn their backs on home-reared lamb in favour of cheap foreign imports.

And it believes farm shops could hold the key.

The NFU's livestock board chairman, Alistair Mackintosh, said: "They are selling a lot of lamb to their customers as a meal and not just a meat, therefore adding value.

"We know from our earlier discussions with retailers we must show imagination in providing consumers with a convenient, assured tasty product and avoid the pitfalls observed in other nations, such as France, where lamb sales have fallen."

But farm shop owners in the Ribble Valley said while calls for an increase in price were valid, only a limited number of producers had access to farm shops.

Eddie Cowpe of Huntley's at Samlesbury said: "Not every farmer can do it and most that are set up are selling their own meat.

"But there is an aspect of adding value through rearing them properly, making sure they are properly hung and the meat is the best quality."

Clitheroe livestock farmer and the NFU's national livestock board chairman, Thomas Binns, added: "We are keen to work with the British supply chain to ensure a sustainable future market for British lamb and build on our consumers' loyalty to buy fresh, local lamb."