§ Mr. Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to ensure that British agriculture maintains an adequate lime content in the soil; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HoyIt is for the individual farmer, in his own interest, to see that the lime content of his land is maintained at an adequate level.
At the request of a farmer, the National Agricultural Advisory Service will advise if a liming programme is necessary. Payments under the lime subsidy meet almost half the gross cost of liming.
In the four years to the end of 1968, 19.6 million tons of lime were applied to land in the United Kingdom, an average of 4.9 million tons a year. The available evidence is that annual maintenance requirements are about 4.5 million tons.