asked the Minister for Agriculture if, in view of the recent announcement of his intention to compel farmers to cultivate 25 per cent. of their arable land during the coming season, he will state what are the prospects of securing adequate supplies of artificial manures and what measures have been taken or are intended to be taken to provide vital basic manures for this purpose.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Supplies of Artificial Manures.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware of the grave uneasiness existing amongst farmers with regard to supplies of artificial manures for the coming season, and if he will now state whether or not there will be any available, and, if so, what percentage of normal requirements.
asked the Minister for Agriculture whether he will make a statement on the supplies of phosphatic, potash and nitrogenous artificial manures that will be available for the 1942 tillage programme.
I propose to reply to questions 20, 21, and 22 together. Only very limited quantities of nitrogenous and potash fertilisers are expected to become available in the 1941/42 season. In the circumstances it is proposed to advise the fertiliser manufacturers to incorporate all the available supplies of these manures and of superphosphate into one compound manure. The total quantity of the compound manure that will thus be provided will probably amount only to about one-third of the total quantity of phosphatic and compound manures which was available in the 1940/41 season.
Could the Minister give any indication (1) of the percentage of soluble phosphates, potash and nitrogen that compound manure will contain and (2) the probable price at which it will be sold?
I should prefer to have notice of the question. I could not give exact information at the moment.
Could the Minister give us any approximate information?
The phosphates will be somewhat lower than the high-grade superphosphate we have had up to this, because there will be a mixture of Irish phosphates in it which will bring down the percentage somewhat. The amount of potash and nitrogen will, I think, be less than 2 per cent. in each case.
Is the Minister aware that there are large stocks of nitrogenous manures in Great Britain, particularly sulphate of ammonia, and will he say what efforts have been made, in view of the fact that we are supplying Great Britain with essential foodstuffs, to secure commodities in return for these foodstuffs?
Every effort has been made to secure them. The British authorities do not agree that there are large stocks on hand there.
Does the Minister not agree that it is obvious that these stocks are there and that deliveries of sulphate of ammonia were made as early as last June to British farmers at a price of £10 10s., with a rebate of £1 per ton for taking early deliveries?
Yes. I should have thought that they could spare some, but they do not agree with that.
Would the Minister say in what way he proposes to make effective the distribution of this manure, representing one-third of the quantity available for this season? So far as the growing of wheat and beet is concerned, the Minister should ensure that there will be some means of fair distribution and I should like him to say what will be that means of fair distribution.
I could not say at the moment. It is very hard to see how it can be distributed so that every farmer will get his share. There are certain types of farmers who will have to get a larger share than others. In that respect, I have in mind the owners of poorer classes of land in congested districts where there might be a food famine if they did not get artificial manures.
Could the Minister forecast even approximately the price of this compound manure?
I should not like to state the figure, but it will not be substantially higher than last year.
Will the Minister bear in mind, in relation to the distribution of what is available, the requirements of old tillage districts where there is a lack of humus in the soil?
We shall bear the claims of everybody in mind, but I do not know whether they can all be covered.
Will the Minister inform the House as to whether he has made any request to the British Government for an exchange of fertilisers for our foodstuffs? I am sure he appreciates the impossibility of continuing to produce adequate foodstuffs here if we have not got fertilisers. Increased tillage will not yield increased foodstuffs, if we do not get fertilisers. Will he inform the House what proposals, if any, he has made to the British Government for giving us fertilisers in lieu of our foodstuffs?
What chances are there of getting more phosphates from Clare? I am informed that the Cork factory would take much more of the stuff from Clare if it could get it. Is there any possibility of increasing the output?
What is the percentage of soluble phosphates in the Clare phosphates?
About 20 per cent. So far as I am aware, the Clare phosphates are being quarried as rapidly as possible.
I am informed by the Cork factory that they cannot get anything like the quantity they want.
I quite agree with that.
Is there any reason why the output should not be increased?
The difficulty of getting it out.
What is the difficulty with regard to the Clare phosphates? The Minister has stated that they are being got out as quickly as they possibly can. I happen to have visited these deposits myself this year. I found a fairly considerable number of men engaged there and I am not at all satisfied, if it is thought to be useful to get these phosphates out, that the output could not be doubled or quadrupled by proper organisation.
It is a matter not for my Department, but I am assured by the Department responsible, the Department of Industry and Commerce, that it is not possible to get the Clare phosphates out any more rapidly, or at least much more rapidly, than at present.
I am amazed to hear that.
Is that not due to private control?
I do not think so; it may be a cause.
Surely the Minister will say that if there is, as there appears to be, an acute shortage of phosphates, every conceivable effort will be made to extract the maximum quantity of phosphate rock from these deposits between now and the Spring.
We have set up a special company for that purpose.
What I am urging is that the maximum quantity of phosphate rock will be extracted from these deposits between now and the Spring.
Any large scheme of development of the Clare phosphates will have to be done by mining and not by quarrying, and therefore, it will take some time before they can become productive.
Has this special company that has been referred to taken over the mining operations yet?
Not yet.
It is the old story that they have started 12 months too late.
That is not an old story.
Will the Minister for Agriculture say whether the Minister for Supplies and himself have approached the British Government to exchange fertilisers for the foodstuffs we are sending to them?
We have made various suggestions to them.
Could we have a statement from the Minister on that?
The Minister would not be in order in making a statement on these three questions.
There is very little information to be got here.