§ Mr. Skeetasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent the use of lime has been reduced due to the cessation of the lime subsidy; whether a cumulative problem is developing; and how he proposes to deal with the situation.
§ Mr. StrangSince the withdrawal of the lime subsidy in September 1976 monitoring of lime use has been undertaken by my Department's agricultural development and advisory service, in conjunction with the fertiliser manufacturers' association, through the survey of fertiliser practice. Figures from this survey confirm the long-term decline in lime use but it is still far from clear to what extent this may have been affected by the removal of the subsidy.
My Department is conscious of the need to maintain the fertility of agricultural soils. Every opportunity is taken through the agricultural development and advisory service and by other means to remind farmers to carry out an appropriate liming programme. A recent example is the press release in the Department's"Current Topics"series issued on 12 March 1979, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Grant aid for the application of lime remains available where it is part of a capital improvement, through the farm and horticulture development scheme and the farm capital grant scheme, with higher rates for hill land.