HL Deb 23 November 1983 vol 445 cc341-2WA
Lord Sandys

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the average size of farms in the United Kingdom as compared with those in West Germany, France, Italy and the USA, expressed in both hectares and acres.

Lord Belstead

The information requested is as follows:

Average size of farms 1981
Hectares Acres
United Kingdom 69.4 171.5
Federal Republic of Germany 15.5 38.3
France 25.5 63.0
Italy 7.4 18.3
United States of America 173.6 429.0

Farms are defined in the European Community member states as agricultural holdings having a minimum of lha of utilised agricultural area. In the USA farms are denned as places having annual sales of at least $1,000 of agricultural products.

Data for Italy relate to 1977.

Sources: EUROSTAT and USDA