§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total acreage allocated for the production of grain crops; and how this compares with five years ago and 10 years ago, respectively.
§ Mr. BuchanIn 1973 9.271 million acres were used in the United Kingdom for cereal production, compared with 9.418 and 8.056 million acres in 1968 and 1963 respectively. The estimated acreage for the current year is not yet available.
§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the acreage given over to each of the main crops.
§ Mr. BuchanThe figures derived from the June 1973 Census are as follows:
England and Wales '000 acres United Kingdom '000 acres Wheat 2,753 2,831 Barley 4,629 5,603 Oats 479 695 Other cereals 127 142 Potatoes 436 555 Sugar beet 480 480 Hops 17 17 Horticulture 652 693 Fodder crops 508 688 Other crops not for stock-feed 50 50 Total crops 10,131 11,754