Speeding the Rough
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DURING the past few months we have published a • number of articles dealing with the excellent • work performed by various War Agricultural Executive Committees. These Committees all operate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and some general-notes on the whole subject may add to the interest in this development, which is of such vital importance to the welfare of the Nation, for. not only does it assist greatly in providing essential food, but also relieves, in a huge measure, the call upon our shipping facilities.
When the war began we had some 52,000 tractors in the country, resulting from a slow growth in mechanized farming during the past quarter of a century, Since the war, however, the speed of this process has increased in an almost marvellous manner, for it is realized by the Ministry and agriculturists that only by mechanization can indigenous food products be doubled with the same or a reduced labour force. The number of tractors is now twice as great and may well rise to 200,000. It-will certainly be in the neighbourhood of 130,000 in the coming year.
Mechanization Demands All-round Progress The number of tractors, however, is only indicative of the total increase, for naturally, many other machines have had to be supplied. Implements for use with horses are of little value when employed with tractors, and to obtain the full benefits of mechanization more suitable tools must be utilized. Naturally, there have been production difficulties with new models, and in order to meet the prodigious demand for tractors and other implements, there has been a big call on industry.
Despite increased outputs these have not proved sufficient. Consequently, there has been a large rise in imports, including tractors, binders and ploughs. This growth has been speeded-up substantially during the past six months, due mainly to the effects of the Lease-Lend Act. Such imports have been physically handled by those who brought them in formerly, but the needs of buyers had to be certified. In this connection, we may mention that the U.S.A. is much concerned with seeing that we get what is essential. One of the most interesting • developments has been with regard to the use of combine harvesters, which cut, thrash and bag wheat in one operation. This typeof Machine was originally developed in the U.S.A. as the result of the shortage of labour. The same progress did not formerly occur here, mainly because British farmers could not afford to pay for sueh comparatively expensive machines and, possibly, thought them an extravagance.
Farmers Encouraged to Help Themselves Despite the excellent work being performed by the County Committees, the proportion. of machines going to them is only 5 per cent., it being considered preferable for the equipment to be in the possession of the farmers, and that in the hands of the Committees treated as being more in the nature of a machinery reserve to be thrown into any gaps. For this reason, in the old, and what may be termed established, arable districts the Committees are doing comparatively little direct work. • There are certain factors regarding the Ministry's efforts which deserve particular emphasis: (1) What is taking place is a revolution in technique comparable with that which took place in industry in the 19th century, when the. power lobm entered the picture, for it must be remembered that there are still at least half a million horses employed in agriculture, but a man with a pair of horses cannot get along much faster than he could 200 years ago, whereas the tractor with a three-furrow plough can perform five to six limes the work per day.
(2) During war-time we cannot import ds much agricultural machinery as we would like. Therefore it is vital that what we have should not stand idle, and the biggest use of the equipment available should be made by its exchange between neighbouring farmers. Efficient maintenance arid general care in upkeep are most valuable_ It should be considered almost as a crime for the cylinders of a tractor to be cracked.by frost. The farmer must now be a skilled man, as must be his employees.
(3) The pace of mechanization is throwing a gigantic• strain upon the repair facilities of every district. The 50,000 tractors added between 1939 and 1940 are still comparatively new, but will, sooner or later, require major attention. The Ministry is doing its utmost to build up large stocks of spare parts for those machines produced here and is allocating tonnage for the importation of suitable spares for foreign machines. Every district will eventually require well-equipped tractor and implement service stations, which should have a very good opportunity of carrying on efficiently after the war.
Welding is one of the processes in maintenance and repair to which the Ministry• is giving close attention. It is already employed for renovating all sorts of broken castings, etc., and for the building up of worn-out ploughthares. -In sandy soil ploughshares sometimes wear out in a few days and, at one time, were immediately scrapped; now they are -repaired. Welding is also employed for building up the pins of the tracks used on track-tractors.
Where possible, the County Committees are developing repair work through the existing trade channels and agricultural dealers, but in some areas which were formerly graseland they have had to form their own repair organizations.
There are now 64 of these Committees in England and Wales, whilst Scotland has many more, which come under the wgis of the Department of Agriculture for Scotland. The former are all directly responsible to the Minister. Their work is entirely voluntary and constitutes an extraordinary example of co-operation. Each Committee consists usually of a landowner, some farmers, representatives of agricultural labour and the Women's Land Army and, nearly always, an agricultural dealer either on the main or a subcommittee. The executive officer is a ecivil servant, usually recruited from the pre-war agricultural organizers.
In certain areas the County Committees also operate road-transport fleets, but only when the existing resources prove to be insufficient. They carry labour, fertilizers, seed potatoes, etc.
Such Committees should be of permanent value to the country, being equipped with machines and full facilities for the training of personnel. It may be that, after the war, they will have to be organized on a somewhat different basis, because no doubt some of the voluntary workers will not be able to spare so much time from their ordinary employment, but the foundations have been laid and upon these may be erected a structure which will prove of incalculable value to the whole agricultural system'of the Nation..
That there is ample scope for development is • indicated by the fact that the U.S.A. has 1,500,000 tractors. We, with one-third of its population, have only • one-fifteenth of this number. Despite the progress made in America, as shown by the organization of its farming, there is room for improvement even there, for something like 1,000,000 farms in the U.S.A. are without a tractor. A popular conception here as to farming in that country is that it is a land of huge agricultural areas. Whilst this is, in the main, true, it is important to realize that the average American farm comprises only 100 acres.