38. Mr. BUTLER LLOYDasked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he is aware that the National Farmers' Union views with alarm the proposal to establish a dead-weight system of sale for live stock, as they believe it will cause unnecessary expenditure of public money and dissatisfaction among farmers, owing to the difficulty of identification of their stock in the places of slaughter, and that they feel that this action would result in a want of confidence on the part of farmers which would seriously affect the production of food; and will he therefore take such steps as he may think right to prevent the system coining into force?
§ 41. Mr. P. A. HARRISasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether any decision has been definitely come to by his Department as to the method of purchase of fat stock; and whether it is proposed to let farmers have the option of selling by the live weight system where the Government does not propose to slaughter them in the immediate neighbourhood?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of FOOD (Mr. Clynes)I have been asked to reply. My Department has been in consultation on this, matter with a committee of farmers' representatives appointed by the National Farmers' Union, the Central Chamber of Agriculture and the Royal Agricultural Society. It has been agreed that farmers shall be allowed to send their cattle to the nearest local market within their specified area, there to be sold at their option either by live-weight or, when facilities permit, by dead-weight.