asked the Minister for Agriculture whether, in the enforcement of the Compulsory Tillage Orders, account is taken of the suitability of the land concerned for the growing of specific crops, especially wheat, and if so, whether he will state the grounds on which certain farmers have been required to sow wheat on land which produces only one barrel per acre; whether he is aware that, taking account of the seed used, there is, in such cases, no net addition to the wheat supply, notwithstanding the considerable expenditure of time and labour involved.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Suitability of Land for Wheat Growing.
In the enforcement of the Compulsory Tillage Orders, the officers in my Department must have regard to the capacity of the land for the production of tillage crops generally and the obligation to grow a quota of wheat on any particular holding is based on the area of land assessed as being arable. The choice of the particular part of the land assessed as arable, which should be sown with wheat, is normally a matter for the occupier to decide.
People are compelled by law—and rightly so—to devote a certain portion of their tillage to wheat. In my constituency, I know cases in which that is a waste of the land and a waste of the time. I am not against the growing of wheat but I think that, in these cases, the people should be at liberty to sow some other crop—say, oats. It is a waste of the seed to sow wheat in certain cases. It is also a waste of food because oats could be grown in those cases and would be of greater value. The cases to which I refer are few and far between but there should be some discretion in the matter.