HC Deb 10 February 1965 vol 706 c376
32. Mr. Gower

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many agricultural holdings there were in Wales at the latest convenient date; and how this compares with the number five years earlier.

Mr. John Mackie

In June, 1964, there were 49,444 holdings in Wales with more than an acre of land used for agriculture; in June, 1959 the comparable figure was 52,970. Two-thirds of the decrease of 3,526 occurred in holdings of under 20 acres, including part-time and spare-time holdings.

Mr. Gower

In how many cases have the reductions in the number of holdings resulted from amalgamation?

Mr. Mackie

We cannot give the actual figure, but a considerable number were due to amalgamation.