Other ways to support farmers are being explored

Heavy rains damaged the quality and value of many crops.

Ministers have agreed that efforts will be made to ensure payments reach those in the worst affected areas promptly.

Those are likely to include north-east England, North and East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

Defra said the harvest in England was now virtually complete and was expected to be bigger than last year's.

Faced problems

The payments to arable farmers are due in mid-November and ministers and farmers' leaders decided the prompt payments would be more effective than earlier partial payments which would have to be topped up later.

Farmers in other areas will be paid within the normal timescale.

Farming and food minister Larry Whitty said: "Every effort will be made to get cheques to hard hit farmers as soon as the payment period opens.

"We are working closely with farmers' representatives to ensure the most effective targeting of our efforts and to explore other ways in which existing schemes and resources can be used to help.

"We appreciate the problems farmers have faced this summer, and it is a credit to them that despite serious delays and difficulties in many parts of the country that almost all of the crops are in now."

Defra said UK farmers were paid more than �1bn under the Arable Area Payments Scheme in 2003.