Subjects Discussed: 1. AGRICULTURAL PRICES.; Price to be given for fat cattle.; Effect on Northern Ireland agriculture of the proposed schedule of agriculture prices.; Drafting amendments of proposed statement by Minister of Food.; Draft of announcement to be made by Minister of Food as amended at meeting of Lord President's Committee held 27.8.40. (Annex).

###GRICULTURAL ###RICES. Pr###ious Reference: L.P. (40) 7th Conclusions, Minute 1). The Committee had before them the following papers:- Draft Statement by the Minister of Food. (L.P. (40) 29.) Note by the Secretary covering an extract from the Conclusions of the Meeting of the Food Policy Committee held on 22nd August, 1940. (L.P. (40) 30.) In the course of the discussion the following points emerged:- (a) Price to be given for fat cattle. (1) THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE said that, since the draft statement before the Committee had been approved by all the Departments concerned the situation had been radically altered in two respects:(i) Fresh calculations in the light of the fuller information now available showed that the increased cost to the farming community of the increase in agricultural wages was not £15 million (as originally estimated) but £18-20 million; to this must be added £4 million representing the additional expenditure on wages due to the relative lack of efficiency of the new workers brought into the industry to replace the 70,000 workers who had left since the beginning of the war.