Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench). It was answered on Wednesday, 22 October 2008.

Agriculture: Combine Harvesters

Question: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the issue is not really one of flexibility but one of basic sanity? If the land is too wet to support a combine harvester, surely it is too wet to harvest the crop.

Answer: My Lords, I see the logic of what the noble Lord says, but I say to him that the conditions of this year’s harvest put farmers under a great deal of pressure. They were faced with the problem of wet conditions and crops being left in the field, then the difficulty of bringing them in and drying them. It must be recognised that the farmers were under considerable pressure, which is why my department tried to respond as flexibly as possible to the situation.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 704 c1126
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Agriculture Damage Farmers Protection Prosecutions Subsidies Common agricultural policy Soil Agricultural machinery
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk