§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the production of cow's milk in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community and Cheshire for each year since 1978, and showing what percentage by weight or volume is used as liquid milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products subdivided as appropriate.
§ Mr. MacgregorI regret that the information is not available in the form requested. However, table I gives details of sales of milk off farms in Cheshire and the United Kingdom. Table II gives available details of milk production and milk utilisation for the United Kingdom and the Community as a whole.
Table 1 Sales of milk off farms in Cheshire and the United Kingdom by marketing year (April to March) Cheshire United Kingdom total 1978–79 748.5 15,162.3 1979–80 756.1 15,160.4 1980–81 764.5 15,212.7 1981–82 787.3 15,163.6 1982–83 849.7 16,374.9 Source: UK Dairy Facts and Figures—1980–81, 1982 and 1983 Volumes.
Kingdom farms, (b) the second smallest 20 per cent., (c) the middle 20 per cent., (d) the second largest 20 per cent. and (e) the largest 20 per cent. of farms, for every year since 1972.
§ Mr. MacGregorDairy cattle data are not available in the form requested. However, details of dairy herds by dairy herd size groups are available and are given for Cheshire and the United Kingdom.
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Dairy herds by dairy herd size group (i) United Kingdom Herd size 1–19 20–39 40 and over Total Year Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows 1972 41,010 365,261 27,025 767,714 30,666 2,191,464 98,701 3,324,439 1973 36,183 325,631 25,386 722,636 32,480 2,388,007 94,049 3,436,274 1974 32,259 287,618 22,943 656,524 32,512 2,449,466 87,714 3,393,608 1975 28,650 250,885 20,922 600,737 31,278 2,390,043 80,850 3,241,665 1976 25,448 221,115 19,485 562,053 31,645 2,444,420 76,578 3,227,588 1977 22,868 197,401 18,462 533,837 32,307 2,533,583 73637 3,264,821 1978 20,798 174,370 17,120 495,967 32,695 2,599,843 70,613 3,270,180 1979 18,269 149,703 15,895 462,372 33,054 2,675,912 67,218 3,287,987 1980 15,618 130,263 14,955 435,323 32,524 2,657,982 63,097 3,223,568 1981 14,202 118,642 13,990 406,923 32,073 2,660,792 60,265 3,186,357 1982 12,940 108,420 13,022 381,291 32,471 2,755,765 58,433 3,245,476
(ii) Cheshire Herd size 1–19 20–39 40 and over Total Year Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows Holdings Dairy cows 1972 730 7,018 812 23,608 1,552 117,169 3,094 147,795 1973 615 6,055 685 20,282 1,556 121,769 2,856 148,106 1974 566 5,441 632 18,634 1,531 123,357 2,729 147,432 1975 465 4,482 584 17,288 1,460 118,658 2,509 140,428 1976 393 3,792 536 15,954 1,452 121,624 2,381 141,370 1977 355 3,384 497 14,869 1,473 126,02.5 2,325 144,278 1978 311 2,851 465 13,991 1,480 129,222 2,256 146,064 1979 281 2,516 441 13,285 1,479 131,463 2,201 147,264 1980 214 1,864 408 12,297 1,452 130,536 2,074 144,697 1981 211 1,917 380 11,296 1,430 132,708 2,021 145,921 1982 198 1,771 337 9,988 1,458 138,887 1,993 150,646 Source: June census frequency distributions.