§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answers of 17 December,Official Report, column 1068 and 11 January, Official Report, column 63, what is the average number of (a) hill cows and (b) hill sheep eligible for hill livestock compensatory allowances she considers necessary for a less-favoured area farm to be considered a full-time commercial business for the purposes of the farm business survey; and what hectarage and acreage she considers to be a very small farm.
§ Mrs. Shephard[holding answer 7 February 1994]: To be classified as a full-time commercial farm in the less-favoured areas of England, a farm must have at least a minimum level of agricultural activity. On the assumption that, apart from grass, there are no other crops or livestock on the farm, this minimum is currently equivalent to either 30 hill cows, or between 200 and 250 hill ewes.
In practice, almost all farms have other crops or livestock so that many with fewer than 30 hill cows or fewer than 200 to 250 hill ewes will exceed the minimum and will therefore be classified as full time.