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The Tractor Helps the Food-production Position

2nd April 1943, Page 24
2nd April 1943
Page 24
Page 25
Page 24, 2nd April 1943 — The Tractor Helps the Food-production Position
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

THE. importance of the individual effort in helping to develop the home production of food, upon which the level of our existence under war-time conditions must, to a great extent, increasingly depend— more particularly as the final phases of the war are reached and exploited— cannot be overstressed. Whether it be the allotment-holder or the man who is engaged in farming many hundreds of acres, the truth of the statement remains the same, although, perhaps, it has the greatest emphasis in the case of thq,se men engaged in mechanized farming in a comparatively small way and who rate economy of operation as valuable a target as output.

A good example of planned production in agriculture is to be found in the enterprise of Messrs. Paige and WilSon, of Alvechurch, Worcestershire, who, joining hands in their fartnin,g enterprise, have proved the worth of the tractor in speeding up many operations.

Decision Reached to Pool Resources

At the time of the outbreak of war, Mr. E. D. Wilson was poultry farming and Mr. 0. J. Paige was pig farming, each renting a part of the same farm. An old tractor, jointly owned, was quite sufficient for their limited haulage ' work, such as the moving of pig and poultry houses. NV hen it became necessary to plough it was obvious that , for each to deal with his own part of different fields would be unsatisfactory and, accordingly, the two me a decided to pool their resources: As there had previously been no arable .land and, therefore, no equipment, a partnership was formed in 1940.

The first step by the new combination was to trade-in the old tractor and to purchase a new .one—a David Brown. Then, when a two-furrow plough, tipper harrows, a Cultivator, a manure drill, a Cambridge roll and a seed drill were acquired they were ready for action.

During the spring of 1940, 24 of their 66 acres were ploughed and sown —16 acres to oats, 51 acres to wheat and 21 acres to oats and beans. Quick to see the possibilities of theirenterprise in the field of mechanized cultivation and having completed their own work, theyfound time to help their neighbours and, in May of the same year, they purchased another tractor—a used machine—and set about contract cultivation. in real earnest, in addition to maintaining their own farm, As their land had carried heavy stocks of pigs and poultry the first season's crops were very good and Their own efforts and that of their man had to be supplemented by. the help of friends.

Wives Trained as Drivers of Tractors Harvesting completed, they acquired a further 11 acres and set about another ploughing season. To do this efficiently they disposed of their second-hand tractor and purchased another David Brown machine. This proved to be a wise investment because, in spite of the severe winter, they. had ploughed, by May, 1941, over WO acres. Labour again being a limiting factor, their wives were trained as tractor drivers and, having purchased a set of discs, they were able, with this additional help, to disc and plant a total of 240 acres. ,

By June, 1941, work had expanded to such an extent as to necessitate the employment of their first " professional " tractor driver and shortly,after this the proceeds of a sale of poultry, pig houses and appliances enabled Messrs. Paige and Wilson to acquire a combine harvester and a pick-up baler.

In spite of a wet harvest they sue

ceeded in " combining " no fewer than ' 150 acres, but they decided, in -view of this experience, that a grain drier was essential if they were to work the combine economically.

In December a third David Brown tractor was bought and a further driver engaged. The accompanying illustrabort shows the three tractors at work in the same field. Their plough was converted to a three-furrow implement. and the David Brown tractors handled it with ease.

. The pick-up baler was found of great use during the hard winter and baled a considerable amount of hay in districts up to 30 miles from their Own farm. Not content with the contract work alone, they increased their own holding in the spring and now had 45 acres under cultivation. So that there should he no delay during the vital seasons, they purchased another' three-furrow plough and a second set of discs and with these and another drill they kept well ahead with the work. They wintered 43. cattle and the 4-ractorsT with home-made twowheeled trailers, were used for carting manure.

Trailers Made from Old Car Chassis,:

During the summer Messrs. Paige and Wilson made, from old car chassis, three four-wheeled trailers to hitch behind their pick-up baler and by improvizing an extension to the baler the bales could be pushed direct on

to the trailers. This was a great success and a big labour saver and last season they picked up and baled 130 acres of hay and clover for themselves and their neighbours.

In July, 1942, a fourth David Brown tractor was purchased and two of these machines were equipped with power take-offs and pulley units. Using 8-ft. and 7-ft. binders they cut 350 acres of corn and " combined " 80 acres. Wherever possib!e, When cutting, they carried on with ploughing until the dew was off the crops, thus saving valuable time. An idea of the growth of this enterprise can be gathered from the fact that, up to November 15, they had that year ploeghed 118 acres of' turf, 538 acres of stubble and, since harvest, 87 acres of turf and 336 acres of stubble, .representing an aggregate of well over 1,000 acres of ploughing in less than a season. This, was, of course, in addition to 400 acres disced. and 300 acres drilled and harrowed simultaneously.

This progress is still continuing, as is evidenced by the fact that out of the present acreage of 864 now being farmed, 69 acres are arable. This has necessitated some additional help, which has been obtained by the assist-. ance of two members of the Women's Land Army.

An example of what can be done in the way of fuel economy—so vital at the present time—is shown by the No. 2 David Brown tractor, which was constantly ploughing with a three-furrow plough throughout the autumn and averaging as much as seven acres per day on less than 15 gallons of T.V.O. This experience illustrates the value of the point which is being stressed by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Fuel and Power to the effect that, in the interests of fuel economy, tractors should be worked to the greatest extent possible at 100 per cent. load.


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