§ Mr. JoplingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will estimate how much land would be no longer needed(a) in the EEC as a whole, (b) in the United Kingdom and (c) in each of the four countries to support milk production in the event of bovine somatotropin being freely available and universally used in the EEC.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonNo. To produce an estimate of any value would require detailed data, which are not available, and a variety of assumptions about the commercial application of bovine somatotropin were it to be approved.
§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the progress being made in compiling additional scientific information on each of the seven areas detailed by the chairman of the Farm Animal Welfare Council in his letter to him dated 26 October 1987,Official Report, 17 December 1987, column 740, regarding the use of bovine somatotropin to increase milk production.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe information necessary to allow a full exploration of the areas identified by the Farm Animal Welfare Council is being generated in field trials conducted under the terms of animal test certificates issued by my Department.