§ 63. Mr. Rentonasked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the shortage of potatoes, he will seek the cooperation of farmers in granting permission to people to glean potatoes from their land after the main crop has been lifted.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsNeither I nor my right hon. Friend the Minister of Food would raise any objection to the gleaning of potatoes with the consent of the farmer, but, after lifting, the land is normally harrowed and the potatoes collected and added to the clamp, or if some time has elapsed, used for stock feeding Generally, therefore, there should be few potatoes left to glean.
§ 65. Mr. Watkinsasked the Minister of Agriculture at what date he notified the Ministry of Food of a shortage of potatoes.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsIndications of the size of the potato crop were received in stages during the season and were communicated to the Ministry of. Food from time to time. Figures of acreage planted were not available until the latter part of August, and showed a decline of over 90,000 acres in the United Kingdom. The shortage of potatoes is, however, preponderantly due to low maincrop yields, and while a tentative estimate was made and sent to the Ministry of Food about the middle of September, a reasonably reliable estimate, of which the Ministry of Food were immediately advised, could not be made until early October.
§ 70. Mr. Tiffanyasked the Minister of Agriculture to what extent reports from the agricultural executive committees show that the farmers will reach the target of 1,015,000 acres of potatoes for the year 1948.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Northern Norfolk (Mr. Gooch), on 24th November, to which I have nothing yet to add.
§ Mr. Gunterasked the Minister of Agriculture what acreage of potatoes was planted and what was the average yield per acre in 1946 and 1947 in the County of Essex.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsThe following table shows the acreage and the estimated126W average yield per acre of potatoes in Essex in 1946 and 1947:
Year. Acreage. Yield per acre. tons. 1946 … … 29,424 7.2 1947 … … 28,586 (a) 5.1 (b) (a) Provisional. (b) Based on Crop Reports prepared at 1st November.