FARMS LANDS IN BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 128, 15 March 1950, Page 4

FARMS LANDS IN BRITAIN

MORE CAPITAL NEEDED VIEW OF PRINCIPAL OF MASSEY COLLEGE (P.A.) AUCKLAND, March 14. Great Britain was reaching the point where the use of additional land meant a big capital-outlay and British agriculture was in the position of needing to attract capital, said Professor G. S. Peren, principal of Massey Agricultural College when ho arrived by the Aorangi this evening. Professor Peren has been studying the Organisation and administration of agricultural teaching and research ’colleges in Britain, Europe and the United States. “British farmers have a certain amount of doubt as to the Government’s policy regarding agriculture,”, said Professor Peren. “I sensed a certain hesitancy in sinking too - much additional capital until the Government’s long term policy was definitely decided. Personally, I think that Britain will Have to grow every ounce of food possible for many years to come.”

Britain was putting a great deal of money into building up a strong research service which was bound to pay dividends and was increasing tremendously the advisory services to farmers. If these two services were fully developed and maintained, a very much larger and more economical increase in production was bound to result. There had been a tremendous increase in production since 1939, and farmers had done a wonderful job in increasing production. Their arable farms were really first-class. Mechanisation had been pushed forward, but there was evidence that some of the smaller farms were over-mechanised.

“There is a very strong organisation for research into the improvement of •grass land and there is no doubt that there will be a big improvement,” concluded Professor Peren. “There is quite a.lot of land that could be used for production that is at present taken up by woods or requires draining.”