HC Deb 11 March 1964 vol 691 cc431-4
36. Mr. Manuel

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farmers stopped producing milk during the years 1962 and 1963.

Mr. Noble

According to the best information available, the figures for the three Milk Boards' Areas in Scotland in 1962 and 1963 were about 230 and 300, respectively.

Mr. Manuel

Is the Minister aware that hon. Members representing Scottish constituencies are becoming inundated with correspondence from dairy farmers in all parts of Scotland? Is he aware that 23 dairy farmers went out of milk production during each month of 1963? Is he further aware that farmers in North Ayrshire have been severely affected, and what does he intend to do to stop this drastic reduction in milk production?

Mr. Noble

The hon. Gentleman will know that the February Price Review, when these considerations are dealt with, will be coming out in the course of the next week or so, and that is the time when we can consider Government action.

Mr. W. Baxter

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his Answer will give no comfort to the dairy farmers because, if taken in conjunction with the recent statement that butter imports are increasing, it presupposes that the production of milk is to be reduced still further? Is he aware that this will affect the farmers in Scotland, and not only the farmers, but those engaged in producing cheese will be adversely affected? Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps immediately, with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to devise a policy to prevent dairy farmers being put out of business and bring hope to the butter and cheese producers?

Mr. Noble

As the hon. Gentleman knows, a good deal of the difficulty which farmers and the Government have experienced recently arose from the fact that the trend of milk production did not bear much relation to the expansion of the liquid milk market. The hon. Gentleman will realise my difficulty in trying to give him information on the Government's thoughts in this matter in advance of the Price Review.

Sir J. Duncan

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that it is not necessarily a bad thing to have some reduction in milk farming, provided that other forms of farming are made profitable?

Mr. Noble

This has been one of the factors which the Milk Marketing Board and many farmers have hoped for, that the farmers engaged in less profitable dairy farming, particularly in the high areas, may move to beef production.

Mr. Manuel

That would mean a shortage of milk next year.

38. Mr. Emrys Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a White Paper on milk production in Scotland, giving the latest information about the recent decrease in incomes of milk producers.

Mr. Noble

No, Sir. The question of farm incomes generally, including those of dairy farmers, will be dealt with in the White Paper to be published after the completion of the present Annual Review.

Mr. Hughes

Is the Secretary of State aware that hon. Members from South-West Scotland constituencies are being very much pressed by their farmer constituents to get some explanation from the Government of the figures given by the Government and those which they know to be the reality? Is he aware that the leading farmers' journal in Scotland has said that the Minister of Agriculture is remote from reality? Does not the Secretary of State think it time when farmers say that their rents have gone up by 125 per cent. that we should get some enlightenment as to the burden on the farmer by the landlord?

Mr. Noble

I am aware of many of these things, because I have had representations both from the N.F.U. and from all three Milk Marketing Boards. I am also in touch with probably the most efficient section of dairy farmers in the Mull of Kintyre in my constituency, but this is not the time when a statement can be made immediately before the issue of the Price Review.

Sir J. MacLeod

Can my right hon. Friend say how many dairy farmers will go out of production because of the winter keep scheme?

Mr. Noble

I do not believe any more dairy farmers will go out of production unless they find a more profitable and more satisfactory method of farming in their areas.

Mr. Ross

Is the Secretary of State aware that farmers in South-West Scotland who are mainly concerned with milk production are very angry indeed? Does he expect us now, following the Answer he gave to his hon. Friend the Member for South Angus (Sir J. Duncan), to tell them that they need not worry very much, they can endure their poverty because other farmers are prosperous?

Mr. Noble

There was no such implication in what I said to my hon. Friend. The farmers will no doubt make their own assessment of the position after the Annual Price Review.