§ Mr. Wattasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give favourable consideration to the recent call by specialists in animal health for the introduction of a national mastitis control scheme.
§ Mr. StrangMy right hon. Friend recognises the importance of mastitis control in dairy herds and has it under consideration. In 1972 the Agriculture Departments, with the co-operation of the Milk Marketing Boards, Farmers' Unions and other bodies, launched the Mastitis Awareness Campaign which is still active. Its purpose is to emphasise to dairy farmers the losses in production that mastitis can cause and the measures that can be taken to control it. Such
Number of Holdings with Dairy Cows* by Dairy Herd Size Group Census 1–19 20–39 40–59 60–69 70–99 100–199 200 and over Total Average Size of Herd(Cows) June 1973 holdings 24,394 21,807 12,752 4,165 6,425 3,529 588 73,660 39 June 1974 holdings 21,251 19,459 12,273 4,117 6,538 3,885 652 68,176 42 * Cows and heifers in milk, and cows in calf but not in milk, intended mainly for producing milk or rearing calves for the dairy herd