THE GOOD GAME

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3468, 19 May 1934, Page 8

THE GOOD GAME

YOUNG FARMERS’ CLUBS

POPULAR ENGLISH ORGANISATION

Perhaps it was because of the rain that the seed sown in a Devonshire village in 1921 sprang up so sturdily and bore such. splendid fruit, for when a young man with a vision arrived one right in the little town he was met with a reception calculated to dampen any one’s enthusiasm.

“Misfter,” said the natives, while the rain poured steadily down, “if you’re looking for the very last place on God’s earth to start a Young Farmer’s Club, you’ve found it.”

That was 13 years ago. To-day the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs of England and “Wales extends from Devon in the south to Northumberland in the north, with over 188 clubs and close on 4000 members. Someone who had heard of the movement buit had not taken the trouble to find out what it is doing, lately remarked, “This Young Farmers’ business is just playing at farming.” To which the reply was made, “So it is. But a good game is surely well worth playing. I’ve seen a good deal of this young farming. It is a good game and, like all games in these days, it Is played very seriously.” This “good game” of farming is open to all boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 21. In fact, if you are desperately keen to begin and are not yet 10, you can join as a “learner” member.

First you are given a badge, and then you are given an animal. And this is where your individual responsibility begins, for it is a serious business to care for a live creature, be it calf, pig, goat, rabbit, hen of bee. An annual show is held, in connection with which a sale of stock and produce takes place, and since the members do their own work and have no labour bills to pay, there is nearly always a “profit” over.

Members are taught by practical and well-trained men and women how to run their little agricultural enterprises; how to rear a calf, to breed pigs, to cultivate plots of ground for fruit and vegetables, to keep a small flock of poultry, or a hive of bees. The activity, it is stressed, must be looked upon as a business and not merely as a hobby, and be run on proper business lines. The necessity of starting with a really good stock; of knowing how to manage that stock; of understanding how to feed the animals on propeidy balanced rations, and of how to keep careful book records and accurately balanced accounts, is part of the training. Impossibilities are not expected, and since there are many young members who may not have had any previous practical knowledge of farming, an advisory committee is always at hand to render assistance. This committee is formed of grownups, who have had special experience in stock-raising, crop cultivation, and the proper housing, feeding and care of birds and animals. Their duty is to raise money for the initial outlay; to purchase and distribute the stock and equipment; to pay regular visits of inspection; to arrange for the shows and sales, and to help in promoting lectures, discussions, and other activities.

Like all good things, the work of farming opens up endless possibilities. The boy or girl who enters for the stock judging competition quickly becomes acquainted with dairying operations; carpentry instruction is gained while making or repairing equipment. Agricultural crafts, such as constructing hurdles, thatching and hedging, are also learned, and those who go in for fruit and vegetable growing are taught the best methods of drying, bottling, canning and preserving their produce. ' Living in the open induces the love of natural history, and classifications of wild flowers, weeds, berries and fruit are often made, while the activities of birds and insects are studied from a practical point of view in order to discover how much of a help or a hindrance they may he. Local history becomes a subject of real interest, and map making, the collecting of farm records, and the study of local customs follow automatically. Small wonder that the young farmer learns not only to careyfor his stock but to protect the countryside in which he lives.