DEFRA'S countryside minister Elliot Morley followed the route of cider making from the apple tree to the famous Herefordshire drink on Monday.

He was in the county to announce a new initiative to help apple growers convert to organic production that will entail protection of old orchards and the landscape.

Twenty-one growers in the county, who supply Bulmers, have been accepted onto DEFRA's organic farming scheme after having started the conversion process.

They will receive payments over a five-year period of around £100,000 to assist with the costs of the conversion process of their orchards that cover more than 200 hectares. The change-over is expected to benefit plant and bird life and will help the department meet its aims on sustainability and biodiversity.

The scheme this year has allocated £8.5m of the total £13m budget to 727 growers, covering 48.526 hectares in England.

Mr Morley said the well-preserved larger standard cider apple trees were an important part of the county's landscape and gave it character as well as providing cover and grazing for livestock.

At Castle Farm, Yarkhill, Mr Morley watched farmer John Powell gathering organic apples from the ground with a mechanical sweeper. "Here we have a good blend of the old and the new. The machinery helps to make these orchards viable," he remarked. The bulk of the scheme's available money was new as the Government wanted British farmers to get a bigger share of the organic market and for the environment to benefit.

Cider apple growing was still a good market for farmers but there was a risk because grants finished after five years. A steady increase of participants was needed as the Government was mindful of the fact that if there was an over-supply of produce prices could be severely affected.

Mr Morley said the scheme would assist in boosting the local economy. Mr Powell, 64, who has 230 acres, said 18 comprised of cider orchards and he was already supplying Bulmers.

"I've never been keen on sprays and manage the orchard on organic principles like many of the farmers around here." The cider trees were upwards of 120 years old, he remarked.

He said DEFRA and Bulmers had been invaluable in helping him through the administrative process. An additional benefit was that Bulmers guaranteed a market, although at this stage only existing contract growers were eligible.

At Bulmers Cider Mills in Hereford, Mr Morley saw apples processed from the press to the bottled product. The mill processes 1,500 tonnes each day and this season Bulmers expect to press a record harvest, beating the 84,000 tonnes record set two years ago.