AGRICULTURAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 19, 23 January 1929, Page 21

AGRICULTURAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND.

DISCUSSION AT CONFERENCE.

SUGAR-BEET AND POULTRY TO

THE FORE

(By PLOUGHSHARE.)

RotJamstead is something more than the most famous agricultural experimental station in the world; it is a clearing-house for nearly all matters of •gricultural interest. Periodical conferences are held, to which are invited the best available experts on the particular subject under debate, and these conferences are likely to prove of increasing value as time goes on and each branch of the industry becomes more and more specialised, for the creation of a common fund of knowledge cannot fail to assist all.

The subject for the November con- j , ference was a survey of the "recent , changes in systems of husbandry in' Great Britain," a matter or very general interest. .Sir John Russell, director of the station, in his opening address, summarised the changes in farming as revealed by the official statistics for the last few years, and was followed by the Hon. C. S. Orwin, of Oxford University. This leading authority on agricultural economics pointed out the essential truth of the old dictum, that "high farming is no remedy for low prices," more especially when high farming involves j a greater application of labour. The English farmer, he said, was a small capitalist, accustomed to a high standard of living and employing hired labour under trades union conditions which were regulated not by the ability of the industry, to comply with them, but by the wages and hours ruling in urban industries. He was having the greatest difficulty in competing with farmers in Europe and in the newer countries, who employed little but family labour, and lived for the most part at subsistence level. The family farmers in England 1 had been doing comparatively well, but the capitalist farmer was tending to concentrate on produce least affected by competition from other countries. Different Districts Show Different Features. There followed in rapid succession brief and highly interesting addresses by county agricultural organisers and representative farmers, each giving an account of the various changes that had taken place in their own districts. Mr. Drewitt discussed the ways in which Sussex farmers were breaking away from the »ld Norfolk four-course rotation—the men on the fiats by growing n greater variety of crops, the men on the hills by laying their poorer fields to grass. Colonel Long contributed an account of the important place now/ occupied by sugar-beet in Suffolk farm J ing, including his own experiences mt« tie erop. Mr. Stewart apoke of tha growing proportion of grassland in

Northamptonshire, and its effect on the live stock industry. Mr. Reid spoke of the tendency 5n Hertfordshire to barefallow land instead of growing roots, and of the grjowing importance of *sash crops, such as potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Mr. Iforter emphasised the great development k>f dairying in Buckinghamshire, wHile Mr. Mercer explained how proximfity to large industrial markets had; enabled the small Cheshire farmer to miintain his arable land. The conference "was given an admirable bird's-eye vjew of the different counties of England and of the ways in which the farmers! in them were endeavouring to meet thefir difficulties. Certain neatures were referred to so frequently ■by the speakers as to be worthy of fuller consideration. Foremost amorig these is the great loss in arable lan«fTsince the war, amounting to roughly 2|000,000 acres; but this is partly accounted for by urban expansion, so the ratfo between arable and grass is approximately the same as it was before the war. It is still possible to grow profitable crops on the better classes of land, but farmers who occupy inferior soils are jbecoming more and more reluctant to .{take the risks of cultivation when prijfee-levels are against them, and it is this] land has has been sown down. The Popular Cow. This transition has been accelerated by the popularity of dairying. Compared j with pife-war rates, milk is relatively higher fin price than any other major agricultural product except potatoes, so that it; is small wonder that Great Britain* now has 3,250,000 cows and or that milk is now the leading ] "crop" in value. | Intimately connected with this mI crease in grassland is a change-over from "arable sheep," such as the Down breeds, to "grass sheep," such as the Cheviots and fosses of the Scottish and Welsh hill bleeds, and the growing tendency to fattan lambs on grass rather than hoggets on roots. The same tendency, too, is observable among cattle, so that fats are often scarce in the spring. Apart from dairy cows, cattle show little or no increase in numbers, this being partly due'to earlier fattening, mostly at two old. Few bullocks nowadays attain the age of three.

Sugar-beet Saves the Situation. Among crops, sugar-beet came in for most attention, representatives from the arable districts being unanimous in claiming that it had been the most important factor in enabling farmers to weather the difficulties of the last few years. This vear's acreage certainly allows a falling-off from last season's record O* 222,000 acres (England and Wales only), this being due to a lower jiubsidy, an adverse season last year, and 4he fact that many farmers have been Irving to grow the crop under unsuitable conditions. Economic investigations show that that crop can at present be expected to leave a small cash profit, plus an extremely valuable supply of stock food. Colonel Long, for instance, stated that although he grew a considerable acreage of beet he had not had to reduce either his dairy nerd or his ews flock, 4ha

feeding value of the tops and crowns left on the ground being equal to the eame acreage of turnips. He also claimed excellent results from the dried pulp obtained from the factories as a byproduct. If the crop is to continue in cultivation after the subsidy is withdrawn it will be mainly through the effective utilisation of its by-products.

Other features stressed by the speakers were the steady maintenance of the potato acreage, the increasing substitution of roots by marrowstemmed kale (chou moellier), and the tendency to leave temporary pasture down longer, in order to reduce labour and maintain fertility. Three-year leys with wild white clover were especially mentioned.

Lastly, mention must be made of poultry. Agricultural economists all over Britain have found that poultry show a better return for labour and capital than any other department of the farm, and production has increased by leaps and bound. England and Wales now have over 40,000,000 head of fowls alone.