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PROGRESS IN FARM TRANSPORT.

10th July 1928, Page 75
10th July 1928
Page 75
Page 76
Page 75, 10th July 1928 — PROGRESS IN FARM TRANSPORT.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Horse No Longer bf Importance in Farm Work, the Real Question of the Moment being "What is the Most Suitable Type of Lorry ? "

rimE success of farming to-day depends as much 1 upon transport as it does upon fertilizers, for, no matter how fertile one's land may be, easy access to suitable Markets is essential for profit. The raw material of food and clothes (agricultural crops) the world over is grown away from the large populations destined to consume it. Consequently, transport is the most vital factor in the laiidable business of feeding and clothing the world. Transport in agriculture is like a two-edged sword, cutting both ways, being needed for carrying equipment and essential materials to the farm as well as taking away the actual produce. In that sense, the importance of transport is in front of the fertilizers, beeause it is needed to haul them to the 'farm for feeding the crops.

Farming is being conducted now on lines almost entirely different from what it was 15 of 20 years ago. It is much more intensive and moves very rapidly in comparison. The population of the

world is greater and increases yearly. More food is being consumed and the general demand for supplies of choice produce is made possible of realization by the great transport developments that have taken place in the meantime.

In the broad outline of food transport there is no saying where farm transport actually begins or where it ends, since it is so bound up with the whole. In order to form a true conception of the agricultural position it is necessary to look at the

whole in outline and then to study farm needs in more detail.

As the agricultural marketing system stands at present, the farmer must be dealt with as an individual, and he is fully alive to the value of transport. There is indeed no difficutly in convincing him of this value, but motor manufacturers and traders do need to understand more perfectly the needs and "demands of agriculture. A more sustained comprehension of the requirements, the difficulties to be faced and of the importance of development should be brought to bear upon all efforts to meet the farm trade. Specially constructed bodies are important. As the farm is an individual unit, however, the majority of farmers have to ne dealt with as individuals. In other words, mass sale is not possible.

Body-work is an attraction and in some branches of farming, such as horse and general livestock breeding, is an essential, but the great need is a vehicle that exactly fits into the needs of the individual farm, Economy is the'most desirable attribute in the farmer's lorry. He himself is not an engineer, not even a motorist in any technical or practical sense. Therefore, the question of the methods to employ in effecting a sale with a farmer becomes important. He usually needs considerable help in purchasing and the temptation to the trade to make a sale should be resisted where this cannot be coupled absolutely with the rendering of a service, the giving of satisfaction.

'Nothing is more disappointing to a farmer than to find after his purchase that the vehicle does not fit his needs. Should it be too small in capacity, or appreciably too powerful, or in any way complicated, it will not be capable of economical working on his farm.

Most standard lorries are capable of adaptation in the matter of body-work for farm purposes and the possibility of such contingencies should be borne in mind during the process of designing, because increased cost, necessitated by alterations and adaptations, is an objection to be avoided.

The Risk in Buying Second-hand Vehicles.

Many farmers are still obsessed with the old idea of "making a bargain," and have, in consequence, suffered much inconvenience through buying secondhand vehicles (cheaply, as they think) that have turned out expensive and not at all suited to the requirements for which they were intended. The delusion that a thing can be "picked up" cheaply still

lingers, but most of us will agree that a motor so picked up is much better dropped.

This, then, is as near as one ma Y get to the present position. The demand for motors by 'farmers is important and will increase. A few examples of farm lorries actually in successful operation, to illustrate further the needs of the moment, may with advantage be given.

The Versatility of the Motor Vehicle.

Motors are used on the farm for a vast number of purposes. There are, however, certain main divisions of predominant agricultural types prevailing in certain districts, and we must draw upon them for our examples. Figures of working costs are not easy to get; as most farmers group the motor expenses in with the general expenses of the farm. Figures are, nowadays, not needed for comparison with those of horses. The horse has gone from all serious farm transport. 'What is the most suitable lorry for a given type of farming is the main question for discussion.

A single task which provides most work is the delivery of milk. In the milk-producing areas, the combines, or farmers' associations, provide many of the Terries for collecting the full cans and delivering the empty ones: But there is a dairy district in every part of the country and many proprietors use small delivery vans for actually retailing the milk and big ones for hauling it in bulk from the farm to the distributing centre.

One such dairy farmer has four Ford vans delivering bottled milk and other farm produce in the town and a 2-ton Thornycroft making the journey between the farm and the town depot with produce in bulk twice daily. The single journey is seven miles. This man is one of the best farmers in the neighbourhood and is making money in spite of the present depressed state of farming. Business matters took me to his establishment the other day and I questioned him upon the costs. He replied that I was welcome to examine his transport accounts, but they would convey very little meaning to me if I did. Transport had to be conducted as economically as possible, but the point of overwhelming importance was what transport made possible. Without his feet of motors he would not do a quarter of his present business and the fact that this earned him a good return in most difficult times, agriculturally, was, he thought, quite 'sufficient to establish the superiority of mechanical road transport in both efficiency and in the matter of profits.

The Enclosed Van for Direct Distribution.

• Apart from the milk trade, the motor is probably no more widely or increasingly used than in the form of the enclosed van for the direct distribution of produce. During the past two or three years I have had full opportunity of studying some of the results. Of two dozen farmers, whose business I know. fairly intimately and ,who, at _various dates during the two years preceding last Christmas (I am including no very recent starters), took to delivering their, own produce by retail, every ore stepped out of poverty to success. '.A.s one of them put it: "I am satisfied because, previously, I was engaged upon a farming concern (producing for sale to dealers) that was a dwindling business. I was not getting even a hying; now I make a very good living and can show a little profit consistently at the end of each year." One man has built up an extraordinarily good business delivering poultry and fresh produce generally twice weekly to the residential parts of Birmingham, and his farm is situated 30 miles away, very nearly on the borders of Gloncestershire. He started several years ago with a Ford van, but Purchased a 15-cwt. Morris when this vehicle was first introduced. He thinks it is a wonderful vehicle, giving no trouble whatever. Another farmer, regularly every Friday and Saturday afternoon, drives all the way, winter, and summer, from Oswestry, in Shropshire, to an artisan part of Birmingham and, haying secured a stand, sells direct from the lorry fresh produce of all kinds, poultry, eggs, butter, fruit and vegetables. "The' greatest boon of my life," is his verdict, for; it enables him to sell much produce that otherwise would. not pay the carriage and commission 'of sending to market, besides the additional Satisfaction of knowing that he is supplying genuine produce to working people at comparatively low prices.

The Value of the 20 to 30-cwt. Vehicle.

On the general farm, the lorry is used for hauling 'produce to market, especially livestock, and for return loads of farm requirements, such as fertilizers and feeding stuffs and is usually of 20-cwt. to 30-cwt. capacity. The lorry is not used so intensively or regularly on these farms as in the case of the marketing of more highly perishable produce and, consequently, standing charges are heavier in relation to the value of the produce handled.. Nor is the lorry as prominent as -it might be on such farms. A little encouragement may be needed.

In the potato and fruit-growing districts and in market gardening areas,the use of the larger lorry is well established. • The tractor is not largely used for road haulage except in connection with hops and sugar-beet, but is finding a permanent place on the land.

Just a word as to the future. Those acquainted with. the industry Will noticemovements' towards better. and more up-to-date marketing of agricultural produce. This applies to every class and, in addition to livestock, includesmeat, milk,, poultry products, fruit and vegetables. The movement is really tending to marketing organization. Although there is no need to do more than to touch upon the subject here, one may say that the development is almost wholly hound up. with road transport—the motor. It is indeed true to say that the motor has forced the pace. Just as it has revolutionized transport generally, so it has in particular that of the farm. The consumer and the farmer are nearer together than ever before. A point worth remembering in connection with future developments is that the transport of farm produce will be more in the hands of organizations and bigger

undertakings than at present. AGRIMOT.

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Locations: Birmingham

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