§ Mr. Randallasked the Minister of Agriculture the total acreage of the better of the permanent grass in England and Wales that could be brought under the plough to provide people with more food 57W this year and to enable dairy farmers and others to maintain a larger livestock population.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsNo reliable estimate can be made of the kind suggested by my hon. Friend, but the higher targets set for potatoes, wheat, and other essential crops, are likely to bring more land under the plough. In addition, the grant for58W ploughing up grassland has been raised from £2 to £4 per acre. The objective of the large expansion campaign launched in August last is to provide more food of all kinds from our own soil. The means to this end must include not only an expansion of tillage, but more intensive methods of production, both of tillage crops and grass.