What is Wrong with British Agriculture ?
[This is the first of two articles on farming by a successful farmer in one of the home counties. The writer is of Swedish birth, but has lived in England for twenty-four years.]
THE question in the title of this article has been put forward in countless pamphlets, articles, and letters during the last decade. The optimist answers : " There is nothing wrong with British farming. Does it not still lead the world in many fields, especially in stock breeding ? " It is a fact that our fair land can still show examples of farming enterprise which are successful from nearly every point of view, and the stout-hearted men who persevere and succeed despite heavy odds deserve profound admiration.
At the other end of the scale the pessimist decries everything but his own shortcomings. Having neither the will to conquer nor the knowledge that breeds self-confidence, he is quite prepared to give up farming altogether and to let the country be steered towards still further industrialization with all its attendant miseries.
At present political parties are playing for position with an eye to the rural vote, and thus the picture is likely to become even more blurred in the mind of the ordinary man. Is it too much to hope that this subject, which is by far the most important racial, social, and economic issue we have to face, may be kept outside the manoeuvring of politicians ? The production of food from the soil is probably still the most important of industries. Coal, steel, textiles, shipping—none of these can show figures approaching the economic and social returns of agriculture. We have therefore a sound basis on which to build. And yet the amount of food imported into this country is enormous. We import yearly £45,000,000 worth of bacon and pork, £80,000,000 worth' of butter, cheese, and condensed milk, £25,000,000 worth of eggs and poultry. It is fairly obvious that there is no need to continue importation of food on such a scale ; in fact, the whole of this 150 odd million pounds should go into the pockets of the British farmer. The example of Denmark (and conditions are just the same in the south of Sweden) has been held up so often that people are sick of hearing about it. a is, however, so true, so significant and so near at hand that it must be cited again and again to point the moral.. Denmark has poorer soil and a worse climate than Great Britain, the wages of workers are higher, and still the amount of produce exported exceeds beyond all comparison that which is consumed in the country. The Banish, agri- culturist is prepared to defray the costs of delivering his produce to any place in the British. Isles where there is a prospective consumer, and is still able to compete successfully with the Englishman who sticks religiously to the home market ; not only that, he will make quite .a good profit. These are the facts. What is the explanation ?
- The point is that the Danish farmer knows his job thoroughly, and he does so because he and all his helpers have been properly educated for the business of farming, -not according to the shibboleths of political parties. -Every county in Denmark has its complement of agri- cultural colleges and schools which are used by nearly • every child in the rural community, girls as well as -boys. These schools combine theoretical and practical instruction, and they are free to all. Since the young -people are needed for the work on the farm during the brief but vitally important period of summer, they are -particularly active during the winter months. It is fact that in little Denmark there are twice the number of agricultural colleges that we have in Great Britain. There you have the solid foundation of Danish agri- cultural achievements.
We in Great Britain are continually being urged to introduce co-operation into our farming on New Zealand or Danish lines. But think for a minute, how can we expect people to co-operate, or to undertake the manage- ment of co-operative organizations, whose education concludes with the elementary school ? Only very well educated and intelligent persons can appreciate the benefits of co-operation ; only such people will even be willing to give it an honest trial. When a person is so ignorant as to be suspicious and jealous of any success that his neighbour may have, there you have a mental outlook which is entirely and utterly hostile to any proper co-operation. The average. British farmer, I am afraid, considers himself no end of a clever fellow ; he boasts of being well able to look after himself, and he rather prides himself on spending a day, or maybe two days each week away from his poor under-staffed farm, chaffering at the nearest market, where, as a matter of fact, all his cleverness turns to the profit of the professional dealer in cattle, corn, and all the other supplies that every farm has to have. But co-operation is most certainly the goal at which we have to aim. I would submit that there is no short cut to it : we can only travel along the road of education. The crying need in England to-day is, in fact, 'for lower-grade free agricultural schools. The pioneer who can lead the way to the establishment of such schools—several in each county will be wanted—will go down to history as the saviour of this country.
I mentioned above that boys and girls attend these agricultural schools in Denmark, and the effective partnership of the woman is perhaps the most important factor in making a Danish farm so effective. There you have the farmer's wife and daughters, not only willing, but highly competent to work by his side. In this country, on the other hand, a pernicious idea has crept into the minds of our women folk that farm work is menial and undignified. To eradicate this idea will be the first step towards success. - We are usually told that the Danish farmer works harder than his opposite number •here, and there is a great deal of truth in this. The British farmer relies too much on hired labour. The " old man " is keen enough on his work of supervision ; he likes going to market, and he may see to the feeding of a few of the animals : in fact, he manages to appear fairly busy without, however, giving forth 'real or sustained effort in any direction. What more natural than that the wage-earner on the farm should imitate his master:?
If his wages appear disproportionately high for what he does, that is not his fault. Were his master only to set the example and organize the work of the farm properly, the British agricultural labourer would be second to none. Here, again, education would make all the difference. With awakened intelligence we see causes and effects more clearly and we are quicker and keener to remedy faults, not least our own.
Next week I propose to consider the last and perhaps the most important advantage which the Danish farmer has over the British—the fact that he owns the land. From a consideration of these points I shall venture to formulate a few practical remedies which might be applied to British agriculture to-day.
(To be- concluded.)
J. 0. Bovixa. _
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