YOUNG FARMERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 December 1943, Page 4

YOUNG FARMERS

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE DANISH PLAN, MONEY MADE AVAILABLE. It happens only 400 miles from En§" land—unless Hitler has stopped that also —in Denmark. It is a system of helping young prospective farmers, who are five-and-twenty and full or life but short of capital, to get started, states Paul Holme,’a Dane who has farmed successfully in England, in an article in the “Countryman.” Perhaps when this war is over we shall have to do what the Danes did after their costly war with Germany in 1864; that is, give the word capital a more human interpretation because much of the old capital has been blasted to pieces. This system is in reality very simple. Imagine a small group of farmers, say a dozen, all good fellows, prosperous, well known, in love with their calling and the land; in every way, in fact, the right type of men to till the soil. Where , such people live you may be sure that a young generation of prospective farmers is bound to appear, whether the progeny of master or’ man; and with their appearance the problem of settling them on the land will arise. SECURITY SOCIETY. Our twelve farmer friends put their heads together and decide to form amongst themselves a little lending society, or rather Security Society, purely for the benefit of their sons and perhaps the sons of some of their labourers. This little society, is no more than a pooling of their resources for the purpose of establishing security for the money their youngsters will one day want, and will be available to them if they can pass the test which the older men .will apply. And so the day arrives when young Nils says to his father, “Look, dad, I’ve found the very place for myself; could you let me have £3000?” You can picture the anxiety on the boy’s face, and the scrutinising .rather stunned, but proud expression on the old man’s. “I will let you know, my boy,” he says. The twelve wise men then sit down to discuss whether young Nils is worthy or not of their assistance. They check up on his career, his ability to manage money, and generally discuss the boy’s character. If they decide to let him have the money, they give him a letter of introduction to the nearest bank, instructing it to pay out from a special account opened and guaranteed by the twelve. But the matter does not stop there. While young Nils receives his £3OOO all right, he will have little control over it for some time to come; not, in fact, until the’twelve have decided that he can use it properly and that their guarantee is well covered. So these men not only find the money, but they give Nils the benefit of their experience. INTEREST REDUCTIONS. With such backing is it strange that the parish steps in and agrees to pay J per cent of the 4 per cent required by the bank, and that the county council moves in its turn and nays a further | per cent? After all, both authorities are interested in having good ratepayers within their boundaries. And since the State is interested in seeing good people settled on the land, it in turn pays a further 1 per cent, bringing the original bank interest down to 2 per cent. So here we have a system which is based entirely upon goodwill and moral credit. If you know your job and are of the right type, the road lies open before you. The security behind the loans may at times be a little difficult to find; but the bank knows that the farming industry must be maintained, and that at any rate half the interest on the loan is paid by local authorities and the Government. Such a system may not be possible in this country; but the fundamental principle upon which it is based, practical knowledge of the industry, together with a determined will to make good, may well be adapted to suit our conditions. It is doubtful, however, whether our present system of agricultural education, as carried out in our various agricultural schools, gives the pupils sufficient practical training to justify granting them loans when leaving. Surely what we want are schools run in conjunction with one or two big farms, where there is a sound handling of the industry, and the theoretical training is limited to an appre'ciation of the various sciences, sufficiI ent to enable the pupils to take up any particular study on leaving the schools.