§ 11. Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby)If he will make a statement on the level of dairy and beef farmers' incomes in Leicestershire. [93396]
§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Nick Brown)Income estimates for farm types are not available at county level. The average net farm income for full-time dairy farms in England was £11,600 per farm in 1998–99. There are no estimates for specialist beef farms, but lowland cattle and sheep farms in England made an average net loss of £1,000 per farm.
§ Mr. RobathanThe Minister thereby acknowledges the enormous crisis in both beef and dairy farming. There is no point in his pretending that it has nothing to do with the Government, because it does. I cordially invite him to my constituency to visit the dairy and beef farmers whom I saw during the summer recess. They are struggling to keep their heads above water—or will not survive. This is a real crisis. Will the Minister: first, lift the ban on beef on the bone—we may hear about that later—which his chief medical officer has set; secondly, review the calf-processing aid scheme; and, thirdly, take action regarding Milk Marque and the future of dairy farming?
§ Mr. BrownI acknowledge what the hon. Gentleman says about farm incomes on behalf of his constituents. I also acknowledge that I, as Minister, and my Department, have a duty to help both the beef and dairy sectors through these difficult times. The hon. Gentleman suggests three remedies. On beef on the bone, I accept the United Kingdom chief medical officer's advice—he wants to lift the ban. I believe that the right thing to do is to proceed in a co-ordinated way throughout the United Kingdom, but I hope that we can do that shortly.
I extended the calf-processing aid scheme twice: the first time getting money from the reserve and the second time using all the available moneys in my Department's budget, in order to continue the scheme at a lower rate. The industry could therefore see that the scheme was being phased out. The calf-processing aid scheme has now come to an end, and I do not intend to reopen it for the remainder of this year, when the European Union-wide scheme closes.
I would like to visit the hon. Gentleman's constituency to meet lowland farmers and discuss what can be done to help. I have had a hard look at what can be done to help under the different common agricultural policy regimes, and there really is not much scope. However, I hope that my intervention and that of the president of the National Farmers Union on the regulatory burden of the sector will afford the hon. Gentleman's constituents some help.
§ Mr. Edward Garnier (Harborough)May I, too, encourage the Minister to come to Leicestershire? My constituency is next door to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan). The Minister will find a similarly depressing picture. The farmgate price of milk has gone down in the past month, causing huge hardship for my dairy farmers. My hon. Friend's point about the calf-processing aid scheme and other matters relating to beef farming in our county cannot be too strongly stated. 566 Agriculture in our area is in a terrible state, and it is incumbent on the Minister to come and see us to ensure that he is fully acquainted with what is going on.
§ Mr. BrownAll of that is fairly stated. On the reshaping of Milk Marque following the Competition Commission report, it is right to say publicly that the Milk Marque leadership has acted bravely in difficult circumstances and is advocating the right solution for the producer side of the industry.
I have worked closely with the Milk Marque leadership and the Dairy Industry Federation on the issues raised by the Competition Commission. I shall do what I can to help to get the sector through these difficult times, which are the more so because of the depressed price of milk at the moment. I would happily visit the hon. and learned Gentleman's constituency at the same time as I visit that of his hon. Friend the Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan). Perhaps we could arrange a joint meeting.