AGRICULTURE IN ENGLAND.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 12 February 1921, Page 9

AGRICULTURE IN ENGLAND.

•SPEECH BY BRITISH MINISTER

OF AGRICULTURE

At Leicester on October 16th last the British Minister for Agriculture addressed .a large meeting of farmers, and English exhanges just-to hand indicate that he gave a very fine address. In the course of his remarks 'he said: -

■At the present moment we are taeecl with a rise in .the price of the loaf, at a .time of industrial unrest, which has come .to a most disastrous point to-day in the launching of this coal strike. There are dangers ahead of us this winter so grave that every man must be prepared, so far .as he is able, to sink his own personal interest, and the interest of his pocket, if thereby he can .better safeguard .the interests of the nation. I am convinced. that in these matters one never appeals to the patriotism of -tlie agricultural community in vain. They have rendered services, not <only during the wae-, but in every crisis of the country's history, which have been at least equal to those of any other section of the community. I know if they are asked to be patient with regard to this matter the appeal will not be made to deaf ears. I would ask them also, in their own selfish interest, to consider this, that if at the same moment that it has become necessary for a rise in the price of the loaf to take place, it were announced that an additional price was to be given to farmers for their wheat this year, over and above that which was. promised,

and which was the basis of an unde* 1 standing six "months, ago, I believe there would be an outcry, and an amount of industrial unrest which would do far more harm to the farming industry in' the long run, and to tht> position of farmers generally, than thejwould gain from the small financial benefit which they would get at the moment. But that does notWter my view that these controls of prices are bad for. production, and it is because they are bad for production that I have opposed them, and done my best to get rid of them at the earliest possible moment. It is quite clear, and after all it is only the economic law, that controls of this kind result in short supply. De-control, on the other hand, means, stimulus to production. We have seen that again and again, and I believe it is practically a law of nature. The policy, or tlie principle which I have been pressing upon the Government and Parliament during the time that I have been at the Ministry of Agriculture, has been practically this, that "free conditions breed enterprise." That is what the farming industry needs more than anything else in the world.

Control "of Bad Farming. So far as I am concerned, the only control that I want to see retained, and that I shall fight to retain, is what is commonly called the control of the bad farmer. (Hear, hear.) I have never found in any meeting of farmers that was an unpopular proposal. No one likes the black sheep in his own flock. I know I shall have the support of. the entire farming community behind me in that. Let me assure you that I have no desire whatever that it should he exercised from Whitehall by this "army of inspectors" who come down from London in express trains and tell the farmers of Leicestershire how they ought to run' their business! That is not what is wanted, and certainly it is not going to be done. As you know, the County Agricultural Committees have now been reconstituted. They consist of representative local men, and in most cases every agricultural interest is admirahly represented upon them. The bad farmer will be judged, not by an inspector from Whitehall, but hy his neighbours and by practical men in his own district. 'Surely there can be nothing fairer than that.

Farming Not a Depressed Industry. Then may I say a word about what 11 call the second misconception as to the duties of the Ministry, one which is perhaps more widespread, and certainly equally mischievous. In my view British agriculture to-day is neither, a helpless babe wanting a nurse, nor is it a spoilt child waiting to be bribed. I am convinced that farmers do not need spoon-feeding in the conduct of their business, and, therefore, the! Ministry is not to be judged by the amount that it does for them in those respects, or by the number of concessions, so called, which it manages.to wring from the Government on their behalf. Farming to-day is not a depressed industry, and it is very unwise oh -the part of farmers or anyone else to try and create the impression that it is. After all, we want to attract to the industry the very best men in the country; we want to attract more capital,, more brains, more energy; and if for no other reason, because the nation needs increased^ • home production. (Hear, Tiear).

Need for Increased Production

I venture to say there never was a time when it has been jnor e needfulfi except possibly at the height of the submarine campaign, and as the inevitable shrinkage of production goes on all over the world, or, at any rate, in those countries upon which we have been accustomed to rely in the past, it will become more and more la matter of national necessity that we should produce the absolute maximum that is posisible irom our .own soil at home. Therefore we want to get the best men into farming.' We want to get all the capital and brains and energy that we can.; an^ the more men of that kind that come' in, and the more production there is, the more will all" engaged in agriculture:, in every section of the industry, prosper by it. The Proper Functions of the Ministry.

Now, having described some of -the things which it is not the business of the Ministry of Agriculture to do, may I touch for a few moments upon the things which. I consider to be its principal business, and which I claim it is already doing. Speaking generally, it is the business of the Ministry to be the guide, philosopher and friend of all sections of the industry, and to place at their disposal every new develop* ment from research, .education, and so forth, that 'pan be discovered to protect the industry, so far as it can, from the i epidemics of disease and pests; to organise it in the counties, so that its voice shall be more effective in the councils of tlie -nation; and to defend it against unfair attacks from wheresoever they proceed; in fact, to see in these matters that ie gets a fair field and no favour, which I am sure is the most it desires. As I say, we are endeavouring to fulfil those duties, and I am not ashamed of our record up to date. '

Research .and Education

The first in order of importance, without doubt, is the work which we are doing in research and education. Perhaps it will give you an idea of the great increase in that work if I tell you tha!; 'tne amount of money which has now been allocated, and which we are spending every year upon agricultural research and education, is about eight times -wliat it was just before the commencemeffifc of the war. With that money—and I venture to say we are spending it well and prudently—-we are creating a network of organisations, in many cases not entirely new institutions, ibut we are- establishing or subsidising centres at universities, colleges, and farm institutes, and advisory experts in< the counties. They are all working together, and to one «nd, with

4h%. .finest kind'of "team play," tagive farmers and aigriculture the latest and best information with regard to the developments of science. W© are working up all those agencies. They are all, -of course, co-ordinated under the Intelligence Department of the Ministry, which'Hs presiifed over with so much distinction and ability by Sir Daniel Hall. This is not merely a policy of theory, because it is already prouucmg very remarkable practical results. I think most of the progressive farmers in the country are aware of the wonderful work which has been done thy Professor Biffen and others in producing new varieties of seed which are calculated to resist some of the risks of our climate, and to show a heavier yield. Many farmers who are^not progressive are using wheat such as Little Joss, Yeoman and so forth, without realising that tne creation of those wheats is due to scientific work in the laboratory under the inspiration of the Ministry of Agriculture. Then We have initiated throughout the country—and I speak' of this because sometimes^l have been accused of wanting to plough up the whole of the shires and reduce Leicestershire to one (brown arable area —we are devoting special pains to the campaign for the improvement of grass lands, and it has caught on already in a most remarkable way. We have shown, and proved to the satisfaction of farmers in different parts of the country that, by following proper •methods of manuring, the . productive capacity of ifteir grass land may be trebled and even quadrupled. Tnen we have devoted time and thought to the development of agricultural machinery, and in that connection I have no intention of apologising for the work which the Food Production Department did during the war in importing and trying, and exposing where th«y were worthless, tractors of every sort and kind from every manufacturing country in the world. Aanough we have been accused of having spent a great deal of money, or lost it, in thfs matter, I venture to say we saved the farmers of this country at least twenty millions of money, and ten years of time, instead of letting them find ou-t for themselves, at the expense of their own pockets, which machinery was reliable and which was not. Then -ye are conducting a great series of experiments in arable dairy farming to show what great economies may be effected with regard to feeding stuffs, which are such a serious expense at the present time, and how the production of milk I may be made cheaper.

Milk Recording Scheme. Then there is the Ministry's scheme of miffi recording. Ido not know whether'farmers realise the extent to which that is already benefiting the pockets of those who came into the scheme. The scheme, i am thankful to say, is growing. Two years ago there were 20,0100 regislierecl cows; last year there were 38,000; and this year there are over 50,000. I hope the scheme will spread like wildfire. It is still in its infancy, at any .rate. But apart from what it has done in the way of increasing the production of milt, the financial results : have been extraordinary. I was looking only yesterday at some of the recent sales, during the last three weeks, of non-pedigree certificated cows under our recording scheme. At the first sale 62 of these non-pedigree cows sold at an average of 104 guineas apiece, simply on- account of the Minister' s certificate. Three sold for over 200 guineas. At th e second sale 34 cows sold at an average of 88 guineas, six of them over 100 guineas. The third sale, I think only a 'week ago, showed an average of 91 guineas, with nine over 100 guineas. Any farmer can see for himself what that means in gain to his pocket, and I think the Ministry may claim some credit for ""that. Animal Diseases and Pests.

Then with regard to protecting the industry from epidemics of disease and pests, you are all aware that we have had a particularly anxious year wfth foot and mouth-disease and rabies, and it has been the painful duty of the Ministry to exercise its powers with vigor and relentlessness in the interest of- the farming, community. But w© are not content with stamping out the wherever it appears, by slaughter. For the first time I think in the history of this country we are initiating a scientific investigation, without undue regard to cost, with the determination that it shall be thorough and searching, into the nature of this pest and the means of grappling with it. lam inviting the services of the most distinguished scientists from any part of the world to come and help us. All I ask is, Having set this great inquiry on foot, that there will not be any undue impatience as to the result. These investigations take an immense amount of time; they may take years. > Every country that has tried to grapple with the problem has failed so far. The task is obviously one of enormous complication and difficulty.

Agricultural Organisation

There is only one word I want to say with regard to the new organisation of agriculture in the counties. I have great hopes for the industry, as well as for the Ministry, in these new Agricultural Committees. lam hoping that they will be the eyes and ears of the Ministry in the counties; that they, through their National Council of Agriculture, one for Englajid, and one for Wales, will have what I may call their Agricultural Parliament, and that that again will elect what I may call air Agricultural Cabinet in the Central Advisory Council which is to be constantly at the elbow of the Minister of Agriculture, to keep him straight and in touch, with the views of the farming community throughout the country. With regard to the Central Advisory Council, I am going to be bold enough to say that whilst as Minister I shall be the nomimnal chair-

man or presiding officer of that Coun-

cil, I want to have as the real acting

chairman a practical: farmer of the

highest standing and reputation amongst his own people. (Cheers.) That will, I hope, satisfy the demand Tor what is commonly called "a practical man in Whitehall (Laughter.)

(To he continued.)