On 17/08/2014 14:57, Tim Lamb wrote:
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.

Described by one source as the Model T of the tractor world, but we
could build them in Britain.

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.

Dairy herds were increased where possible. Fresh milk was seen as an
essential resource and, unlike cereals, virtually none was imported.
Dairy cattle were also used as a source of meat, which actually resulted
in a slight rise in home production of meat, despite the reduction in
beef herds.

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

The main point was, where possible, to produce bulky goods at home, so
that the amount of shipping needed was reduced. Domestic wheat
production doubled in two years, with potatoes (which gave one of the
largest food value per acre) and barley not far behind.

It wasn't limited to Britain. An estimated one million tons of shipping
was saved in the year to March 1943 by growing supplies for the troops
in the Middle East locally.


--
Colin Bignell