News

June 24, 2008

Politicians And Scientists Have Made A Dog’s Breakfast Of World Agriculture

By Charles Wyatt

Agriculture in this country was at its most basic during the second World War. Although labourers were excused military service, many of them went off to join their mates and the gap was filled by Land Army girls and anyone else living in the country who was physically capable. No elf and safety rules in those days. Boys as young as six were allowed to lead a shire horse and cart from farm to field during the busy days of harvest. The cart was filled with ears of wheat on the stem as there were no combines in those days and the wheat was in sheafs rather than baled so there was a lot of skill in loading a cart and building a stack. A few weeks later along came the threshing machine pulled by a steam engine and the wheat was threshed. Everyone joined in with small boys and terriers trying to catch the rats and mice which emerged from the stack.

The purpose of this nostalgic trip is to point out that at that time the basis of farming was rotation of crops which had been popularised by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. Practically all farms combined arable and livestock farming and the system ensured that there are always a fodder crop – roots – and a grazing crop – clover – so that the animals could be fed year round. Key to success was the fact that  the straw was  turned into manure by...