In message , "Nightjar
\"cpb\"@" "insert my surname writes
On 16/08/2014 19:20, Tim Lamb wrote:
....
Otherwise they were displaced in 1941 when the War Ag committee required
suitable grassland to be ploughed and provided tractors and machinery to
do the job....

With 50,000 tractors in Britain at the start of the war, our farming
was already among the most highly mechanised in the world. The increase
to 150,000 tractors by the end of the war was part of a massive planned
change to what we produced at home, aimed at reducing the amount of
shipping needed. In 1938, we bred nearly half the meat we ate, but grew
only 20% of the cereals. During the war, beef cattle virtually
disappeared from Britain, in favour of growing wheat and oats, which
were actually described as ship saving crops.

My father was *given* a 1928 Standard Fordson with cast iron spikes on
the driving wheels. Petrol/TVO engine with magneto ignition.

The old ploughed up *Sheep walks* here were too poor (still are) to grow
Wheat but Oats and Barley were OK. Fertiliser and lime spreading were
supported which continued long after 1945. All the local farms had 12
head of dairy cows, probably limited by hand milking.

I don't think it was hugely efficient but the produce was controlled
(egg, milk marketing boards etc.) so got shared across the country.



--
Tim Lamb