§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will specify the number of farmers engaged in(a) lamb, (b) beef and (c) cereal production in Scotland during each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe numbers of separate agricultural units in Scotland engaged in lamb, beef and cereal production, as recorded at the June agricultural census each year, is set out in the table.
Lamb Beef Cereals 1979 14,706 20,817 19,267 1980 14,846 20,461 19,057 1981 14,755 19,720 18,146 1982 14,450 19,347 17,713 1983 14,606 19,062 17,186 1984 14,744 18,835 17,109 1985 14,872 18,479 16,789 1986 15,151 18,069 16,078 1 21986 12,707 16,859 15,282 21987 12,810 16,432 14,870 1 Reduced. 2 From the June 1987 census onwards coverage was reduced by 6,000 very small scale holdings. The second set of June 1986 figures provides the bridging comparison.