§ Mr. Geraint Howellsasked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of hill cows in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MorrisHill cows are not separately specified in the statistics collected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Some indication may360W be obtained, however, from the number of hill cows in Wales on which hill cow subsidy has been paid since 1967 which is as follows:
Year Number 1967 107,502 1968 112,005 1969 122,185 1970 129,286 1971 134,681 1972 139,919 1973 151,142 1974 160,329 1975 160,600 1976 154,018 1977 (to end of April) 130,292 It is likely that the slight decrease recently is due to farmers relating their cow numbers more closely to the feeding capacity of their own farms following fodder supply problems in two recent winters.