§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any record is maintained by his Department of the use to which farmers put land in respect of which payments have been made under the outgoers scheme relating to cessation of milk production; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregor[pursuant to his reply, 23 April 1985, c. 387]: A successful applicant under the outgoers scheme is not required to inform my Department of the use to which he puts his land once he ceases production. Each farmer's circumstances are very different and we did not consider it desirable to seek to direct them into particular sectors. We took the view that each individual should be free to determine the direction of his business in the light of his own commercial judgment.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if any savings will be made in the expenditure of the common agricultural policy in circumstances where farmers compensated under the outgoers scheme relating to the cessation of milk production use the land in question for the production of beef; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacGregor[pursuant to his reply, 23 April 1985, c. 387]: It is not possible to make a reliable estimate of the effect on expenditure under the CAP. The outgoers scheme involves a reallocation of quota from outgoing producers to certain other producers. The effect on beef production depends partly upon whether producers who receive additional quota generate the same supply of calves for fattening as had been supplied by the outgoing producers and partly upon whether the resources released by outgoers are used to produce different commodities from those which would otherwise have been produced by those receiving additional quota. Given the likely wide variety of responses between producers, due to differences in circumstances, it is not possible to estimate reliably the overall effect on beef production.
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§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the amount which will fall to be paid to farmers seeking payments under the outgoers scheme under which agreement is secured that milk will not be produced; how many applications have been received for payments under this scheme; and what acreage and what number of cows he estimates will be affected by the applications likely to be approved.
§ Mr. MacGregor[pursuant to his reply, 23 April 1985, c. 387]: In England and Wales, we are aiming to buy in 289 million litres of milk quota, at a cost of just over £37.5 million. By 19 April 1985, some 1,469 producers had submitted claims for payment in respect of 240.5 million litres.
The quota bought up from outgoers will be re-allocated to other producers, who will adjust their production accordingly. It is not possible to estimate the net effect of this, if any, on total cow numbers or on the area used for milk production. This will depend upon whether the husbandry methods of producers benefiting from the reallocation of quota differ from those of the outgoers.