§ 97. Mr. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture how many acres of grassland have been ploughed and cropped for this year's harvest, following the announcement in February of the £5 an acre ploughing grant; and if he will estimate the extent to which the downward trend in the tillage acreage shown in the last two years has now been reversed.
§ Mr. NugentComplete information is not yet available, but my right hon. and gallant Friend believes that the acreage of eligible grassland ploughed up and sown to approved crops in England and Wales will not be far short of 400,000 acres, so that the original forecast of 500,000 acres for the whole of the U.K. is likely to be an under-estimate. He would prefer not to attempt a prediction of the effect on the tillage acreage until the June returns have been analysed.