§ Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has yet been able to assess the extent of damage done to the agricultural industry by February's exceptionally severe weather; and what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the prospects for the season.
Mr. AmoryA special inquiry has been carried out to assess the damage to agriculture caused by the recent bad weather. This has indicated that autumn-sown corn crops have suffered a setback and some damage has been done. Although it is too early to be precise about the extent of the damage, it is clear that a proportion of these crops will have to be re-sown. In the case of the 1½million acres under autumn-sown wheat the proportion may turn out to be reasonably small; it is likely to be considerably greater for autumn-sown barley and oats, but the acreage under these crops is relatively small. Grassland generally made no growth and some pastures have been burnt by frost: early bite will be delayed for some weeks, but meanwhile stocks of winter-keep on farms are likely to be sufficient. Potatoes in clamps appear to have suffered little damage.
It is also too early to assess to the full the damage caused to vegetables, but it is clear that spring greens, spring cabbage and broccoli, the main greenstuffs for March and April, have been severely damaged. Carrots and other root vegetables have been only slightly affected. Flower crops have been retarded, and some damage has been done to outdoor flowers, such as anemones. Supplies will be reduced in coming weeks. Damage to fruit trees and bushes is negligible.
Livestock appear to have come through quite well. Some outlying stock have lost condition, but cattle and sheep generally have been maintained with the use of extensive hand-feeding. Lowland ewes are in satisfactory condition, and in the early flocks they are lambing quite well. Hill flocks have suffered in some areas, but on the whole their condition is fair to good.