year there has been some recovery and in 1925 the numbers were 15,975,000. The decline has been mainly in arable districts. The average number of pigs kept in the five years 1921-25 (2,658,000) was higher than in any corresponding period, but whether this is an indication of any permanent or continuous increase in pig-keeping is uncertain. There have always been great annual fluctuations in the numbers of this class of stock. Apart from the changes in the numbers of animals, meat production has been affected in the case of cattle and sheep by the earlier age at which animals are now slaughtered and their lower average weight. As a result the average annual output of meat of all kinds in the five years 1921-25 was only about 14,912,000 cwt. or 15 per cent. less than the average production of 17,593,000 cwt. in 1909-13. The figure for 1924-25 taken alone (16,391,000 cwt.) was considerably higher than the average of the last five years, but it was increased by an exceptional production of pigmeat in that year. There has been a reduction in beef but an increase in veal, which has resulted in a decrease in the home supply of beef and veal of rather less than 15 per cent. In the case of mutton and lamb the decline is much more marked and represents a fall of no less than 38 per cent. since before the war. The reduction in the number of sheep has also resulted in a decrease in wool production. These are striking figures, especially in the case of an industry which seems to have such a large unsatisfied market at its door and they tend to neutralise the satisfaction that may be felt at the expansion of the dairy industry. Pig-meat, however, showed a small increase on the five-year average. A distinct development is evidently taking place in poultry-keeping, there being an increase in egg production of some 50 per cent. as compared with 1908. In order to obtain a more general view of the agricultural production of England and Wales than can be obtained by considering the various products individually, a calculation is made in Chapter VI showing the total value of the output of the land. In order to avoid duplication it is necessary to exclude from this calculation the value of materials produced on farms but used for feeding stock and also the value of stock or produce sold by one farmer to another. The estimate thus represents the value of the agricultural and horticultural produce sold to the non-farming community or consumed in farmers' households; in other words it is the value of the gross output of the land actually entering into consumption. Out of this has to be paid rent and wages as well as the cost of feeding stuffs not grown in this country, fertilisers, machinery, implements, rates and many other charges. The figure of output for 1925 works out at £225 millions. Exact comparison with 1908 is difficult, but in that year the aggregate output was estimated at £127 millions so that the increase in 1925 was 77 per cent. The rise in the general level of agricultural prices in the same period was also 77 per cent., from which it would seem that taken in the broadest sense the agricultural production in the two years was not very different. In very large part, this output is the product of live stock; the cattle, sheep and pigs killed for meat, the milk and dairy produce, the poultry, eggs and wool entering into consumption having collectively in 1925 an aggregate total value of £155 millions or 69 per cent. of the agricultural output. Thus, in one form or another, the production of live stock is the first and foremost concern of the farmer and the main source of revenue from the land. Corn, potatoes and sundry farm crops (excluding crop used for feeding to farm live stock) make up a second large group of agricultural products, but in the aggregate these only represent a value of £46 millions or a little over 20 per cent. of the total of £225 millions. The corn crops taken alone account for less than 11 per cent. Indeed, as a selling crop, corn holds relatively a much less important place in the agricultural economy than is often supposed, though in the eastern counties of England it is on many farms one of the main sources of revenue. Nevertheless, taking England and Wales as a whole, the value of the live stock and live-stock products very far exceeds the value of the crops sold, as distinct from those used for feeding. The third group of products includes fruit and vegetables (excluding potatoes) grown for human consumption, glass-house and nursery produce, and these are estimated to have a value of nearly £25 millions. These are round figures which give an approximate idea of the relative importance of the different branches of the industry. So far as these estimates can be compared with similar calculations for 1908 there seems evidence that the increases and decreases in production have more or less balanced one another and that the loss in meat production and in wool already mentioned may be set off against the extension in dairying and in poultry-keeping, and that any reduction in farm crops is made up by an extension in vegetable, fruit and similar crops. The output of crops and live stock is, however, not entirely the production of the land of the country, as there is an appreciable importation of feeding stuffs and fertilisers or of raw materials from which feeding stuffs and fertilisers are manufactured in this country. As import figures are only applicable to the United Kingdom as a whole it is not possible to make any estimate of the amount consumed in England and Wales alone, and consideration of the question how far the crop and live-stock production is dependent on food and fertilisers brought in from abroad must be reserved until complete figures of production are available for the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For the same reason it is not possible in the present Report to make any estimate of the relation of home production to the total food supply though it is hoped to do this at a later date when information as to the production of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be compared with imports. The productive side of agriculture is, however, only one aspect of the problem, and in attempting to review the general position, account needs to be taken of other factors, such as the holdings on which the industry is carried on, the number of persons engaged, the capital employed and the rent paid, and last but not least the influence of prices and the changes which have taken place in recent years. An attempt is made to deal with these subjects in Chapters VII to XI. As regards the number of holdings (Chapter VII) there is some difficulty in deciding on the extent of the increase in recent years in the number of holdings under 20 acres, but in any case, the bulk of the land is in holdings over that size. Holdings over 20 acres numbered 220,600 in 1924 and covered 24,372,000 acres or 94 per cent. of the total acreage of crops and grass (excluding rough grazings). The corresponding number of holdings in 1913 was 221,250, while in 1895 it was 216,000. There has been an increase in medium sized holdings at the expense of holdings at both ends of the scale. A classification of these holdings has been adopted which gives some indication of their character and it is interesting to note that 104,200 or nearly one-half of the above total of 220,600 holdings over 20 acres consist mainly of pasture land, while nearly 40,000 or about 18 per cent. consist mainly of arable land. One characteristic is that the smaller holdings, say, from 20 to 100 acres, are generally more heavily stocked in proportion to their size than the larger holdings. The question of the number of persons who can properly be described as engaged or employed in agriculture or horticulture is one of considerable difficulty, but an attempt has been made in Chapter VIII to reconcile the apparently conflicting figures obtained from different sources on this subject. On the whole, allowing for differences in definition, there is a good deal of evidence that the number of persons engaged in agriculture or horticulture at the present time in England and Wales is about 1,100,000, of whom about 800,000 are employees of various kinds and 300,000 farmers, market gardeners or nurserymen who are either employers or working on their own account. The number of purely agricultural workers, excluding gardeners, has no doubt declined since 1908, though the decrease shown in the Census Returns between 1901 and 1921 is only about 40,000, and in the same period there was a corresponding increase in the number of persons who described themselves as farmers. That there should be a decline in the number of purely agricultural workers seems a natural result of the decrease in arable land and is also largely accounted for by the rapidly increasing use of mechanical power in agriculture, a subject which is dealt with in Chapter IX. The reduction in the supply of agricultural labour appears, however, to be less than is sometimes supposed, and the evidence of the last few years suggests that the numbers are nearly stationary. In conclusion the main differences in the agricultural position of England and Wales in 1925 as compared with what it was prior to the war, so far as they can be judged by this enquiry, may be summed up in a few words. There was in 1925 a smaller area of arable land and a smaller production of the principal farm crops, whether for sale for human consumption or for feeding to live stock, while the aggregate production of meat was also less; on the other hand, the output of milk and poultry products was greater, while the cultivation of horticultural crops generally has also extended. Thus, where the British producer is able to take advantage of his nearness to markets as in the case of milk, poultry, eggs, fruit and vegetables, there has been an extension in production and the grower has in spite of increased imports at least held his own, though in some of these commodities the increase in production has not been proportionate to the increase in population. On the other hand, where the grower is more exposed to world competition as in the case of farm crops and meat, the tendency is rather in the direction of methods which result in a reduction of output. Whether the smaller output of meat in recent years will prove a permanent feature is uncertain. The continuous though not very rapid decline in arable cultivation, is perhaps a reflection on the one hand of the extension of dairy farming and on the other of the less remunerative character of corn growing. I have the honour to be, Sir, December, 1926. Your obedient Servant, |