Contrasting Farming In East And West Germany

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29089, 29 December 1959, Page 8

Contrasting Farming In East And West Germany

The difference in farming methods between East and West Germany had to be seen to be believed, said Mr C. T. A. Ward, chairman of United Wheatgrowers. Ltd., who returned recently from an overseas visit. The difference was like that between day and night. Between Hanover and Berlin as he had driven along the autobahn, the crops had appeared to be just as good in both sectors, but the harvesting methods were in marked contrast. Western German farmers were using tractors, reapers, and binders, and combine harvesters, but in Eastern Germany the wheat was being cut with scythes and sickles and tied into sheaves by women using twisted straw. Oxen, poor horses, and single-furrow ploughs were used for cultivation in Eastern Germany, Mr Ward said. The recent harvest in Britain had been most satisfactory, with good yields, and the autumn had been the driest for 200 years. The drought, however, had affected milk production, and many farmers in England and the Continent would face a problem in providing sufficient feed this winter. English wheat crops were very good on the whole, but the harvesting methods were much slower, with all the straw being saved for animal feeding. Run-out Pastures In many parts of Britain, pastures were run out, but farmers could not be persuaded to break them up. Mr Ward said. Even though the Government offered subsidies of between £6 and £l2 an acre to farmers ploughing pastures more than three years old there was a lot of opposition. The old saying. “Breaking old

pasture will break the farm and the farmer,” was still believed. In some cases, farmers leasing their land wanted to plough up old pastures, but were not allowed to do so by the agents for the lessees. British farming was in a healthy position, but farmers were doing things the hard way, Mr Ward said. Carting out muck and spreading it on the land by hand was a waste of labour, but it could be still seen on many farms, although some farmers did have mechanical spreaders and loaders. In Scotland, Mr Ward said, he had seen land which had been cropped continuously each year in living memory. Farmers there believed that what was taken from the land had to be replaced, and as much as 20 tons of animal manures would be spread to the acre each year. “To one born in New Zealand, it was amazing to realise how fortunate we are in the rapid growth of plants and their early maturation. Grass grows faster and, as an example of rapid growth, the Pinus radiata in New Zealand is away ahead of the stunted trees of that variety overseas.” Mr Ward said. New Zealand Bread On the whole, the quality of New Zealand bread was much better than the average he had eaten overseas. Quality was much more uniform and much cheaper. New Zealand bakers and millers owed a great debt to Mr E. W. Hullett. the director of the Wheat Research Institute, for being able to produce such an even loaf. “Our main objection was that we couldn’t have the same sort of bread every day and the quality varied considerably.” he said. “Considering the reputation of Canadian wheat, it was interesting to note the variation in quality of the bread there. We had some very poor bread in Canada.”