BBC political correspondent Nicky Robertson reports

British National Party members have been targeting markets and agricultural shows with literature that contains material on repatriation and immigration.

The National Farmers' Union is aware of the problem and is asking its members to steer clear of approaches from such organisations.

National Farmers' Union representative Anthony Gibson says its members are particularly vulnerable after a difficult 18 months for the industry.

He said: "Farming is going through a major crisis. There have been a lot of demonstrations and wherever you get demonstrations you get people moving in to exploit that for their own political ends.

"It's fertile ground. That's how the BNP would see it.

"It's very important that farmers know who these people are and understand some of the policies that they stand for - which are not the sort of policies that 99 out of 100 farmers would want to have anything to do with whatsoever."

Incidences on increase

The Support Against Racist Incidence Unit thinks that racial incidents in countryside areas is on the increase.

They have warned that the majority of people are in danger of being a victim of racial violence and are calling for a support system to help those in fear.

Their concerns are backed up by the latest police crime figures, which show an increase in racially-motivated crime in rural areas.

The group believes the new countryside campaigns being mounted by groups such as the BNP are linked to the rise.

BBC Political Correspondent Nicky Robertson says that most farmers are unaware they are now being targeted, and that hardline groups are becoming bolder in their approaches.

Many of the leaflets distributed at gatherings such as the Countryside March in London earlier this year dealt with rural issues on the cover, but contained anti-immigration material inside.