Vol. 370 No. 14
asked the Minister for Agriculture in the event of further milk reductions by way of quotas and restrictions being forced on us by the EC; whether he will protect the small family farm enterprises from these quota restrictions by ensuring that all those who supply less than 30,000 gallons of milk will be exempt from these.
108.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will ensure that there will be no cut in milk quotas for small producers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 108 together.
Because of the serious imbalance in the milk market and the unacceptably high stock levels, the EC Council of Ministers have now agreed measures aimed at further reducing milk quotas. These will be achieved principally by (i) the surrender of quotas under a voluntary cessation scheme under which producers are paid an annual premium of 23p per gallon for seven years to surrender quotas and (ii) the temporary suspension of quotas of individual producers for a two year period.
The scheme at (i) is a voluntary one, affecting only those farmers who wish to surrender quotas and will not involve any quota cuts for other farmers unless it is under subscribed. As regards (ii) it is not possible to exempt any category of producer from the linear cuts involved but it is estimated that the level of premium involved at 38p per gallon fully compensates farmers for the temporary quota loss.
