§ 32. Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the amount of grant which went to large-scale grain and milk producers; and what percentage it was of the total grant to all producers, in each of the last two years.
§ Mrs. FennerI am afraid that the information is not available in the form requested. The information I have is that grant paid under the agriculture and horticulture development scheme and the agriculture and horticulture grant scheme to specialist and mainly dairy farms and specialist cereal farms of 24 European size units (ESU) or over is estimated to be as follows:580W
Calendar year Total grant paid Grant paid to the farm types mentioned above Total grant £ million £ million per cent. 1981 180.8 43.3 23.9 1982 231.4 50.3 21.7 One ESU is equivalent to 1,000 European units of account of standard gross margins at the average of 1971–74 values. Using the exchange rate of the time 1,000 European units of account equal about £500. A 24 ESU specialist dairy farm could have a total of about 65 ha and a herd of 90 to 100 dairy cows. The equivalent for the specialist cereal farm would be a total area of about 70 ha with perhaps 50 ha devoted to cereals.