The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture is to tackle the problem of red tape holding back subsidy payments, its Minister told the conference.
Ms Brid Rodgers said she intended to produce a protocol next year to give farmers a "clear explanation" of how their subsidy claims would be handled and what they could expect.
"I am acutely aware of the problems caused by the endless bureaucracy of conforming to European Union regulations and red tape," she said. The conference backed calls from South Down MP Mr Eddie McGrady for the Northern Executive and British government to ensure that fishermen in the North were protected and not undermined by EU directives.
Mr McGrady said he hoped it would be possible to "circumvent the rules and regulations of the Common Fisheries Policy . . . to sustain that industry until such time as white fish reserves are restored in the Irish Sea". Mr Dermot Curran, from Ardglass in Co Down, said fishing incomes were suffering "cuts, cuts, cuts" at the hands of Brussels. He said there were boats tied up because there were no workers. "I wouldn't work for £35 a week," he said.
The conference also backed South Down MLA, Mr Eamonn O'Neill, after he criticised the Regional Development Minister, Mr Gregory Campbell, for the way he handled the ban on sheep grazing on the Mourne mountains, following fears over the cryptosporidium bug in water supplies.
Mr O'Neill claimed some farmers stood to lose £4,000 in subsidies because Mr Campbell had not consulted the Agriculture Minister about his decision to ban sheep from government property. The ban would not have had an effect until summer but by making it when he did, Mr Campbell's actions meant MsRodgers could not go to Europe for the compensation payments.
He criticised the Democratic Unionists' policy of rotating Assembly members in ministerial posts and directly blamed the sheep grazing problem in the Mournes on this policy.
"It is a very sad tale and points out the stupidity of the DUP's policy of rotating ministers," he said.