§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers there were in business(a) 10 years ago and (b) at the latest available date. [92717]
§ Mr. RookerThe information available relates to agriculture holdings rather than farm businesses; some businesses operate more than one holding. The 1988 June agriculture census recorded 247,300 agriculture holdings in the United Kingdom. The equivalent figure for 1998, the latest available, was 237,900.