Less-favoured Areas (Hansard, 2 February 1994)

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cattle and sheep farms are wholly or mainly in the less-favoured areas.

§ Mr. Ancram
In the Northern Ireland agricultural census, a farm is classified to the less-favoured area if any of the land which is owned by the farmer is within that area. Any land which the farmer may take under the short-term leasing system known as conacre is disregarded.
On this definition, there were 15,279 cattle and sheep farms in the LFA at the June 1992 agricultural census and 15,241 in 1993. In each year, the figure includes an estimated 600 to 700 farms with less than half their owned land in the LFA.

§ Dr. Strang
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the total subsidy to be paid on cattle and sheep in the less-favoured areas in 1994.

§ Mr. Ancram
The total subsidy to be paid on cattle and sheep in the less-favoured areas in Northern Ireland under the suckler cow premium, sheep annual premium and hill livestock compensatory allowance scheme is estimated to be at least £70 million in 1994.