Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the numbers of suckler type fat cows and heifers sold in Northern Ireland each month in 1973, 1974 and 1975 to the latest available date.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe only information available is that giving the marketings of all Northern Ireland fat cows and bulls whether of suckler or dairy type. The numbers of Northern Ireland fat cows and bulls marketed each month in 1973, 1974 and 1975 were as follows:
Thousand heat 1973 1974 1975 January 5.0 7.6 11.6 February 3.6 7.7 8.6 March 3.4 6.0 7.3 April 3.4 5.7 7.8 May 3.6 5.1 6.3 June 3.4 6.8 6.9 July 3.3 6.1 7.6 August 4.6 6.4 7.3 September 4.1 5.1 N.A. October 5.8 6.1 N.A. November 6.5 7.5 — December 5.8 5.9 —
(Thousand head) 1972 1973 1974 1975 (1) Cows— June … … … … … 285 324 339 327* December … … … … … 297 336 342 — (2) In-calf heifers— June … … … … … 40 43 37 33* December … … … … … 72 67 52 — * Preliminary. It is expected that the figures for December 1975 will show a further decline in the female beef breeding herd but it is not possible to estimate the extent of the decline.