asked the Minister for Lands and Agriculture to state, in respect to the Irish Sugar Manufacturing Company, what acreage of sugar beet was grown in each county for the year 1926-7, what was the average yield of beet for each county, what was the average sugar content for each county, what was the number of beet growers in each county, and what was the total sum paid to farmers for beet for the 1926-7 crop.
WRITTEN ANSWERS. - SUGAR BEET YIELD AND ACREAGE.
Mr. HOGAN
The area of sugar beet as officially recorded in 1926 was 9,483 statute acres, and was distributed as follows:—Carlow, 1,975; Leix, 1,684; Wexford, 1,672; Kildare, 934; Tipperary, 826; Kilkenny, 639; Waterford, 512; Offaly, 444; Wicklow, 348; Louth, 310; other counties, 139 statute acres.
I am not in a position to reply to the second, third and fourth portions of the question, and as over 5,700 farmers grew beet for the Carlow factory in 1926, I think it would be unreasonable to ask the Irish Sugar Manufacturing Co., Ltd., to go to the trouble and expense of furnishing the information asked for in those parts of the question, and particularly so in view of the fact that yields and sugar content of various varieties of sugar beet were determined by experiments conducted by the Department in 1926 under the supervision of the County Agricultural Instructors throughout the country, and as the results of those experiments have been published. I may say, however, that the average yield and sugar content of the 1926 crop published by the Department of Industry and Commerce in April last were 9.1 tons (factory weight) per statute acre, and 17.3 per cent., respectively. The total sum paid to farmers for beet by the Irish Sugar Manufacturing Co., Ltd., during the 1926-27 manufacturing season was approximately £255,000.