FARMING IN GERMANY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21866, 20 August 1936, Page 10

FARMING IN GERMANY

STRICT GOVERNMENT CONTROL Intense activity in cultivating every acre of farm land in Germany was commented on in an interview yesterday by Mr G. D. Griffiths, on his return to Christchurch after an absence of five years and a half. Mr Griffiths recently visited Germany to continue his studies in architecture, and while he was there noticed a marked difference between the degree of cultivation of farm land in that country and in England. “Everybody in Germany under 25 years of age is required by the Government to do a year’s manual labour for the good of his country,” said Mr Griffiths. “He is paid for this work, and at the end of the period is required to undergo army training for a year. Most of the men in the first year are employed on road development and on farms, and there is a tremendous amount of this work going on. All the women, too. under 25 years of age are required to do a year’s work for the good of their country. “The Government has strict control over farming activities, and if a land owner is not getting the fullest production from his farm the Government exercises a right to take the land over. An owner is given a year’s warning if it is considered he is not using his farm to the best advantage, and if he has not made satisfactory improvement at the end of that period the Government puts someone else, usually a relative, in charge of the farm. “The Government is apparently determined to leave no land unproductive,” Mr Griffiths added. “While I was in Germany I did not see a single herd of cattle grazing in the fields. All the cattle are stall fed, and the land is kept under intensive cultivation. It was in absolute contrast to England, where there is so much land that is not put to the fullest use.”