§ Commander Maitlandasked the Minister of Agriculture how many harvester combines it is expected will be working in England during the 1948 harvest; what the total output is estimated to be; how many grain drying plants will be in operation to deal with this output; what will be their capacity; and what steps he is planning to take to deal with the surplus, which would result from 1948 proving to be a wet harvest.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsIt is estimated that about 6,400 combined harvesters will be working in Great Britain during the 1948 101W harvest and that their total output should be rather over one million tons of grain. Grain drying plants will be operated by various interests, including millers, maltsters, merchants, the Ministry of Food and farmers. Precise information as to the total capacity is not available, but it is expected to be generally sufficient, if used to the best advantage, even if the harvesting season is wet. Within the limits imposed by existing shortages of labour and material the provision of additional drying and storage facilities is being supported by my Department and the Ministry of Food.