THE familiar sight of Herefordshire's apple orchards are fading away, threatening wildlife as the world's biggest cider maker ends contracts.

With an oversupply of apples, it means Heineken, the company behind Herefordshire cider brands such as Bulmers, Strongbow and Scrumpy Jack, are having to cut back on their suppliers, but argue they are 'absolutely committed to the county'.

Apple orchards near Tarrington, Clehonger and Stretton Sugwas have been grubbed up as farmers are unable to sell their crop anywhere else. According to Heineken, an acre of apple trees would have yielded around 18 tonnes 20 years ago, but now that figure is closer to 30 tonnes because trees have a higher yield.

One farmer, who's still under contract with Heineken, said seeing orchards disappearing isn't as bad as what people think.

He said: "Cider makers started offering to buy contacts back, no being back-handed, no being short-changed. But as long as the contract is in place, they will buy the apples.

"Trees are coming out because there's too many apples. They're offering to buy the contracts back for a reasonable price. It's not being done with a vendetta.

"I know some people will grow maize instead because grain is worth more than apples."

In an annual report into the market by another Herefordshire cider maker Westons, they reported Strongbow Original is now worth £186.6 a year million and is showing growth of 1.4 per cent, compared with the Dark Fruit which grew almost 40 per cent to now be worth £148.5 million.

Heineken maintain they still buy more apples from the county than other cider makers combined.

A spokesperson said: "It's no secret that there is an oversupply of apples across the industry driven by increased lifespan of orchards, increased efficiency, bumper crops and changing market dynamics. But Heineken is committed to Herefordshire, investing £58m over the past few years to upgrade our operations.

"We are choosing not to renew some contracts as they come to the end of their term, but do not end any contracts prematurely and always consult with affected orchard owners before taking any decisions.

"We make no stipulations on what happens to the orchards when the contract comes to an end. We would never ask farmers to grub their orchards."

While commercial 'bush' orchards aren't as good for wildlife as traditional orchards, they are still an important part of nature.

Laurence Green from Herefordshire Wildlife Trust said: "Bees are the most obvious ones to be affected. Apple trees are excellent sources of nectar and pollen in the early season.

"Dead wood on these trees supporters invertebrates, the holes in trees means there's something living in there. This is then a knock-on effect as songbirds are reliant on invertebrate larvae."

The picture is less bleak for independent cider makers, who are taking advantage of a gap in the market left by bigger producers when they stopped making 'real' cider.

Gwatkin Cider near Abbey Dore in the Golden Valley have been steadily growing over the past three years and said another problem is the changing tastes of consumers.

Arthur Daley, an admin assistant for Gwatkins Cider, said: "They now use eating apples for fruit cider because they're sweeter and without tannins.

"The problem is it (cider) has been mass-marketed and it's no longer traditional cider. We've got a shop, we sell a full range and people can come and try. We sell all over the country, a pub in Newcastle stocks our cider.

"We're filling a gap in the market, it must be 20 years since Bulmers sold real cider that was on a hand pull on a bar because we had a lot of the casks from them."