THE MOST SCIE.tifIC FARMING IN THE WORLD

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1716, 18 January 1905, Page 64

THE MOST SCIENTIFIC FARMING IN THE WORLD

THE EXAMPLE OF DENMARK. Whenever agriculturists are disposed to give themselves over to despair they should go to Denmark. The example of that country is enough to encourage the most desponding. It is the most striking object lesson that can be found as to the possibility of reviving farming and putting it on a profitable basis. Denmark is not a very fertile country—nothing like England, for instance —but it has applied brains to agriculture with the most astounding results. Mr P. Blem, member of the Danish Parliament, and President of the Danish Co-operative Committee, went to Hungary to describe to the agriculturists there what had been achieved by Denmark of late years. The following are extracts from the paper in which he describes the extraordinary success which has attended the application of co-operation to agriculture in his native land. They provoke the inquiry : "If this can be done in Denmark, why could not s mething of the same kind be done elsewhere ?” Mr Blem said: Two very favourable years for the friends of the co-operative system in Denmark have been experienced. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. The co-operative societies based on the Rochdale system have continuously increased in number and turn-over. There are at present over 1000 societies, with 150,000 to 160,000 members, and, as a matter of fact, these societies have on the average a yearly turnover of about £2OOO. It will thus be seen that the total turnover may be estimated to be about .£2.000,000 annually, which is a considerable increase during the last two years, the turnover before that time being estimated to be somewhat more than .£1,500,0 00. The Co-operative Wholesale Society at Copenhagen now sells goods to 915 distributing societies, while the number was 675 two years ago. The turnover in 1903 was £1,100,000, in 1901 £750,000. Besides the ordinary co-operative soceties, there are altogether six larger and 11 smaller societies for the purchase and distributing of feeding stuffs, manure, and seeds, numbering about 35,000 members, and with a turnover of about £BOO,OOO during last year. Altogether the purchasing societies number upwards of 200,000 members, and have a turnover of £2,800,000. CREAMERIES. The co-operative creameries number now 1057, with 150,000 members. The quantity of milk delivered during the last fiscal year was 42,500,G00cwt, from which 1,580,000 cwt of butter was produced, at a value of £8,400,000. Besides the 1057 co-operative creameries, which are all those owned by co-operators, there are 188 ordinary dairies worked by private owners, who each buy the milk from more than 100 cows and turn it into butter or cheese. There are further 63 creameries connected with estates belonging to large farmers, who prepare the milk from their own cows. During 1903 Denmark has exported 1,580,000 cwt of butter produced in the country, at a value of £8,4.00,000, of which 95 per cent, was shipped to Great Britain. This is an increase during two years of 210,000 cwt in quantity and of £1,100,000 in value. According to British statistics (the "Grocer) Great Britain has, during 1903, bought from Denmark 1,580,000 cwt, or 43.4 per cent, of the total quantity of butter imported, and paid in respect of it £9,572,000, or 46.8 per cent, of the total amount paid for the butter imported. The proauction of butter by the cooperative creameries will be seen from the following tabJe: Cwt. of Butter. 1901 1,370.000 £7,300,000 1902 1,470,000 £7,776,000 1903 1,580,000 £8,400,000 SLATJGHTEEr-HOUSES. There are at present altogether 30 cooperative slaughteries. In 1901 there were 26. The number of the co-operators is 67,200, compared with 64,800 in 1901. However, only 27 slaughter-house* have been working during 1903, as three have only been erected recently. The following table shows the number of pigs and cattle killed, and the quantity of eggs exported by the slaughteries during the last three years: • . 'tJ ~|| =|l gfj 3 J H £ 1901 ... 651,261 12,100 2,600,000 2,314,000 1902 ... 777,232 8,344 2,700,000 2,722,000 1903 ... 928,850 17,131 3,400,000 3.055,000 The average price paid for pigs was in 1901 and 1902 £3 4s 6d each. In 1903 the price went down to £3. The prices for eggs were in 1901 and 1902 lOd per dozen, and in 1903 10£d per dozen. Of pigs killed (bacon) 96 per cent, was shipped to Great Britain; of eggs exported, 97.5 per cent, went to Great Britain. Of the cattle killed only 26 per cent, was exported to Great Britain, while about 50 per cent, went to Germany, and the remaining 24 per cent, to Norway. Denmark has altogether exported in 1903 bacon to the value of £4,228,000. The corresponding figures were for 1902 £3,950,000, and for 1901 £3,364,000. According to the British statistics, Great Britain has during 1903 bought from Denmark 1,533,180 cwt bacon, or 29 per cent, of all the bacon imported into the United Kingdom, at a cost of £4,290,000, or 31.5 per cent, of the amount paid for the bacon imported. EGGS. The Danish Farmers’ Co-operative E ! gg Export Company had in 1903 33,000 members (in 1901 30,000 members). The exports were in 1903 £222,000 (in 1901 £183,000). The centres for collecting and exporting eggs, under the management of

the co-operative slaughteries, which have been, mentioned above, number altogether 17,000 members. The society at Esbjerg ha* 15,000 members, and ao coraingly there were about 65,000 cooperators who have exported eggs of a value of £436,000 during 1903. The total export of eggs produced in Denmark during the years 1901-1903 was the folowing: D izen Eggs. 1901 ... 31,700,000 ... £1,182,000 1902 ... 35,883,000 ... £1,329,000 1903 ... 38,741,400 ... £1,522,000 According to British statistics (the "Grocer”), Great Britain has, during 1903, bought from Denmark 34,650,000 dozen eggs, or 19.4 per cent, of the total quantity of eggs imported into the United Kingdom, at a cost of £1,650,000, or 25 per cent, of the total amount spent for the purchase of eggs. The co-operative societies for purchase and distribution now number about 200,000 members; the co-operative creameries about 150,000 members; the cooperative slaughter-houses about 67,000 members; the egg export centres about 65,000 members; altogether about 482,000 members. In 1901 there were about 400,000 members. The total turnover of these companies was:—ln 1901, £12,080,000; in 1902, £12,890,000; in 1903, £14,214,000; and thentotal production in butter, bacon, and eggs was:—ln 1901, £9,800,000; in 1902, £10,570,000; in 1903, £11,414,000. As the total exports of Denmark during 1903 were somewhat under £20,000,000, it will be seen that the export of our cooperative societies, being £11,414,000, amounted to 57 per cent, of the total exports from Denmark. STATE AID. "State aid to co-operation” is not given in Denmark, at least not directly, but viewing the fact that the State grants subventions for scientific experiments and for remunerating controlling officials and experts, the co-operative societies, especially the co-operative dairies and slaughteries, obtain in this way some indirect support from the State. A short statement of th©»e subventions is here submitted. THE; SUPPLY OP GOOD SEED.

For the purpose of avoiding adulteration or purchase of inferior goods an office was opened by the State several years ago, which, controls the trade in seeds, and in which analyses of seeds are carried out for testing the purity and sprouting power of seeds. The State contributes half of the cost of the office expenses and of the salary of the manager, etc. This contribution amounts altogether to about £3BO. The other moiety is covered by the parties who apply for analyses of seeds. Towards the cost of the salary and the office expenses of the expert in agricultural chemistry, who carries out the analysis of manures, the State contributes £167. DAIRYING. The co-operative dairies do not receive any direct aid from the State, but the following grants are given annually on the financial budget for the promotion of the dairy industry: 1. For carrying out milking in a rational way, £778. Of this amount part is spent as salary for an expert and teacher, and the rest for establishing milking courses all over the jountry. 2. For statistical works in connection with the dairy industry, £SOO. This amount is the pay of an expert, who works out weekly reports concerning the prices paid for butter, and statistics of the working of dairies. These statistics are sent to all the dairies, who give information as to their working. About half of the dairies are interested in this matter. 3. For the control of the firing in dairies, effected by an expert, the State contributes £56. 4. For the establishment of local exhibitions of samples of butter the State contributes £222, and for salaries, office allowance, and travelling expenses to four local dairy experts, £7OO. 5. The half of the salary and the travelling expenses of an expert for the co-operative slaughter-houses, £lll. 6. For salaries, office and travelling expenses to agu-icultural attaches in London and Hamburg, £1444. 77. For assisting dairy men and women in extending their experience and knowledge of their profession, £llll. These grants amount to £5471. LABORATORIES AND RESEARCH. The Royal Danish Agricultural and Veterinary School at Copenhagen obtains for carrying on the working of "The Agricultural Economical Testing Laboratory” a grant of £5556 annually. Here, butter from the dairies and bacon from, the slaughter-house are examined, and teste are superintended with regard to the feeding of cattle and swine on various trial farms in the country; also experiments are carried out regarding the best methods for producing butter and bacon in the dairies and slaughter-houses. Further, the expenses of a bacteriological and an animalic-physiological department are defrayed. These grants from the State amount altogether to about £II,OOO, and the annual expenditure has proved to have been and to be of great advantage to Danish agriculture in the production of its articles of export: butter, bacon, and CggS*. Ninety per cent, of the total exports of the Kingdom of Denmark are agricultural produce. There is no protective duty in the country for agricultural produce except for cheese, for which reason no cheese is exported, which proves that protective duty is detrimental. However, agriculture has to pay duty on the articles of industry used in production, and under these circumstances it cannot be said to be unreasonable that the State supports agriculture directly by granting subventions for breeding and keeping domestic animal*. IMPROVEMENT OF STOCK. For these purposes £2223 was given to the Royal Agricultural Society and the

various agricultural associations, and besides: (1) Far prizes to sheep, horses, cattle and swine at the annual show, £15,550; (2) To breeding societies for horses, cattle, and swine, £14,770; (3) For other provisions in connection with the breeding and keeping of domestic animals, £18,330. These subventions are, as a rule, given subject to me conditions that similar amounts are spent for the same purposes by the various societies. (4) For agricultural experts, £2600; (5) for travelling expenses to judges, for pi'inted matter, etc., £IBOO.

For small agricultural enterprises (cottars’ farmsj: (1) Prizes for excellent cultivation of cottars’ farms, and to travelling expenses to cottars, £5000; (2) for courses in agriculture to cottars, £2160. The total expenditures amount altogether .to £55,210. These subventions have contributed most creditably to the great improvement which has taken place during the last decade in the keeping of domestic animals, which the Danish farmers hope will also continue in future.