§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what according to(a) the most up-to-date and comprehensive data he has available and (b) the farm business survey, was the average number of (i) beef cows and (ii) ewes, carried on less-favoured areas livestock farms, by county and in Scotland.
§ Sir Hector MonroThe table provides information by region—county information is not readily available—on the average number of beef cows and ewes on cattle and sheep farms wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas—LFAs—in Scotland from the agricultural census as at June 1992. As the farm accounts scheme covers only farms that are considered to be full-time commercial businesses, very small farms are excluded from the survey. The farm accounts scheme records the average number of livestock on the holding throughout the year. On LFA livestock farms, the average number of beef cows and ewes recorded by the farm accounts scheme in 1992–93 was 48 and1020W 372 respectively. This compares with averages as at June of 46 and 364 respectively for similar farms from the agricultural census at June 1992.
Average number of cattle and sheep farms wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas at June 1992 Region Beef cows Ewes Islands1 10 90 Highland 18 189 Grampian 44 128 Tayside 43 505 Fife 44 197 Lothian 47 391 Borders 51 647 Central 31 457 Strathclyde 31 285 Dumfries and Galloway 50 343 Scotland 28 239 1Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles.