asked the Minister of Agriculture when he will notify the C.A.E.Cs. and farmers of the acreages of such essential crops as wheat and potatoes that they will be required to grow in 1948; and to what extent he intends that the total tillage acreage should be reduced next year.

County war agricultural executive committees will be notified of the target acreages at which they should aim in 1948, in the course of the next few days. I hope that the total tillage acreage in 1948 will not fall below 10 million acres in England and Wales, and I am considering measures to that end.

How does that 10 million acres compare with this present year's tillage acreage?

It is 10,662,000.