asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total number of farm units in England and Wales on the latest date for which figures are available; and how this compares with the position 12 months previous to that.

The latest available information is as follows:

Census		No. of Holdings
June 1976	(provisional)	204,500
June 1975		206,172

The figures relate to all known holdings with 40 standard man-days (smds) or more per annum; those with less than 40 smds per annum are included only if they have four hectares (10 acres) or more of crops and grass or at least one regular whole-time worker.