asked the Minister for Agriculture if he is aware that, owing to the increasing weakness of the soil due to continuous wheat growing, the produce of wheat per acre is growing less and less; and whether as an alternative he will have experiments made to ascertain how far rye can be successfully cultivated as a substitute for wheat for the making of bread.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rye Cultivation.
I am not prepared to agree that the decrease in the yield of wheat in 1941 as compared with 1939 and 1940 was due to a general decrease in the fertility of the land on which the crop was produced. The yields in 1939, 1940 and 1941 were higher than in any of the three preceding years, and as the great bulk of the crop grown in 1941 followed a manured crop or was grown on lea land the reduced yield must be attributed mainly to seasonal conditions.
The growing of rye has been encouraged by my Department in certain parts of the congested districts, but it has been found that farmers will not grow rye on land which will produce a reasonable yield of any other cercal crop. The yield of rye under similar conditions is almost invariably lower than that of wheat, and although there are certain districts where the growing of rye might be extended, the prospects of getting it grown to an extent sufficient to provide an appreciable proportion of our breadstuffs are remote.
Could the Minister say how many acres are under rye this season?
I think about 2,000.