§ Mr. RuaneTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers have left farming in each of the past 10 years. [123462]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 23 May 2000]Information in the form requested is not available. The overall number of main holdings in the agricultural census in the United Kingdom has declined from 256,700 at June 1989 to 239,600 at June 1999. These are net figures, which include holdings coming into, as well as leaving agriculture and will, in many cases, take no account of changes in ownership.