§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he intends to take to protect the viability of farmers producing beef and milk.
§ Mr. BishopReturns to beef producers in the United Kingdom are underpinned by a combination of premiums and intervention. At the meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers on 12th to 13th December my right hon. Friend said that the United Kingdom must be able to continue this dual system of support for beef production. What the level of support should be will be considered in424W the context of the current annual review and the forthcoming EEC price fixing for 1978, as will that for the manufacturing milk market. In the meantime. the Milk Marketing Boards' present returns for manufacturing milk, together with the arrangements that my right hon. Friend announced on 9th December for liquid milk after 1st January, should enable the Boards to give producers a price significantly above that resulting from the present guarantee.