§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the leaching of nitrates from land formerly used for nitrogen-fixing crops once that land has been included in the set-aside scheme.
§ Mr. RyderSuch information is not yet available from set-aside scheme trials, but it will be provided by experiments currently in progress. Meanwhile, scientific evidence indicates that nitrate leaching from land converted from nitrogen fixing crops to permanent fallow could be relatively high in the first year, but it would fall subsequently.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision is made within the set-aside scheme to minimise pollution of ground water and water courses by nitrates.
§ Mr. RyderUnder the rules for the management of land set aside to fallow under the scheme, a plant cover must be established and maintained on the land concerned and the use of fertilisers is not generally permitted. Furthermore, advice is available to farmers from my Department on the best practices for the avoidance of pollution by nitrates.