asked the Minister of Agriculture how the profitability of the agricultural industry is arrived at; what differences there are between the figures for separate counties or groups of counties where conditions are similar; and whether these differences were taken into consideration in the February price review.

The main evidence on the profitability of agriculture comes from farm accounts collected and analysed by University Departments of Agricultural Economics, and summarised by the Agricultural Departments. These accounts, which are not classified by counties but by types of farming, are taken into consideration at the February price review.