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Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 ..
Under the
Defence of The Realm Act (DORA, 1914) which was passed just before the outbreak of hostilities, the
Ministry of Agriculture had the power to: Preserve and maintain agricultural land solely for the production of food, to control by order, the cultivation, management and use of land in order to secure maximum production of food from the farms; to terminate any tenancy of agricultural land where it is considered that the land is being neglected or badly cultivated; to introduce special measures for the determination of birds, rabbits, deer, vermin and pests
The Ministry now had much more power to meet the demands of a hungry populace that would soon have to rely on food that was largely home produced, as was forecast, quite accurately that importation of food would decline. Many of the farmers who had to produce this food had to change their methods of farming. They had to produce in greater quantities food that was rich in carbohydrates such as potatoes, or foodstuffs that were too bulky or fragile that would not take up valuable shipping space, so as not to rely too heavily on importation.
Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 ..
With reference to the title of this Special Study, like the
Great War the
Second World War was a time of
affluence for many farmers, particularly in the
arable districts of England. For example,
prices of wheat in
1939 per cwt for England and Wales were
5 shillings, by
1945 this had almost tripled to
14s 5d.
Barley in the same period rose from
8s 10d to 24s 5d, and
oats rose from
6s 11d to 16s 5d. farmers were heavily
subsidised by the Ministry of Food, who
bought goods from farmers at higher rates, whilst
selling them to the public at lower rates, the
shortfall being made up by the
Treasury. Crops such as wheat however, were acquired by the government cheaper than in times of peace. This system was , on 26th November 1940 confirmed to stay in place whilst hostilities were taking place and for one year after they ended.
Government policy was critical in ensuring an increase in productivity. Like the First World War,
War Agricultural Executive Committees There were eventually sixty-one committees established in England and Wales, which came to be known as
‘War Ags’. The members of the War Ags included
local farmers, members of the
Women’s Institute and had the power to take farms away from farmers who were considered to be farming inefficiently. They also had to ensure the
government policy of ploughing up more land was implemented. The War Ags had the power to tell people which fields were cultivated and had a
pool of labour and machinery to work the land themselves. They also
encouraged more modernisation, which resulted in
more efficiency and greater production.
Livestock
The importation of feedstuffs was reduced by problems in shipping. This did not prevent the
encouragement of higher yields in dairy cows. More
small scale farmers began to produce milk,
premium payments were given to the
first 1514 litres of milk produced per month. Other
small scale production of livestock was encouraged with the introduction of
Pig Clubs and
Poultry Clubs. Domestic poultry keepers did not have restrictions placed upon them like
large-scale producers, who
faced rationing controls. The
Small Pig Keepers Council, an organisation founded by the
Ministry of Agriculture encouraged anyone with space to keep a pig and feed it on
household waste. There is little evidence to suggest that these smallholders and people in towns were ever an economic threat to full-time farmers, but whilst the war was taking place, helped to supplement a diet that was rationed.
Hill farmers were dealt with
separately for the first time. In
1940 subsidies were paid at the equivalent of
12.5p per head per hill ewe, by
1942 this had risen to
40p. A
committee was formed in
1941-1942 for England and Wales to
review the long term future of hill farming, a
minimum of four hundred ewes was required for
full-time status.
Farm Workers
The government had the foresight to ensure that farmworkers were not as scarce as they had been in the First World War. This was achieved by
farming being
declared a reserved occupation, if any male farm worker wanted to
join the forces or have an
alternative occupation, i.e. construction, a
replacement had to be found before he was allowed to leave his job on the farm. This came under the
Restrictions of Engagements order in June 1940. Martin claims that anyone who wanted to leave agriculture for the forces or another occupation would have done so, as the
war was nine months old when this order became effective. Howkins states that an
estimated fifty thousand farm workers were lost to the armed forces prior to the Restrictions of Engagements Order. The
total number of farm workers in
1939 (seasonal, part and full-time) were
six hundred and seven thousand (607,00) in England and Wales, for
1940 the number had risen to
six hundred and eight thousand (608,000).By
1945 the number had increased to
seven hundred and seventy thousand (770,000). This was due to the
recruitment campaign by the government to organisations such as the
Women’s Land Army. This had
varied success, in England some encountered
sexism, and many were
appalled at the
conditions they were expected to work and live in. Sackville West, cited in The People's War states that
women nearly equalled the abilities of their male counterparts in tasks such as
milking, turning hay and lifting peas, but other
more demanding tasks it required
three women to take the place of
two men.
The
unemployed from the towns and cities were also put to
work on farms, as were
conscientious objectors.
Prisoners-of-War also took part, by
1945 there were
57,763 working on farms in England and Wales, the obvious advantage being that they did not need paying, the incentive to them being a healthier and more stimulating environment than being stuck behind the barbed wire for the duration of the war.
Wages, always an issue with farmworkers, were
increased as the
value of farm work was recognised by the government as being
essential to the war effort, a good wage being an incentive to stay on farms. Estimated wages in
1940/1941 for the basic wage of an
adult male were
48sh 5d per week in England and Wales, by
1944/1945 this had increased to
over 67 shillings. Due to the security felt by farmworkers because of the shortage of skilled manpower,
union membership of the
National Union of Farmworkers rose to
100,000,
triple what it had been prior to the war.
Machinery
More tractors and modern implements were as essential to the increased productivity of the land as the farmworkers mentioned above. The
horse began to fall out of favour as there was more land cultivation to be undertaken, but the decline was not rapid, there being
over six hundred thousand (>600,000) in the whole of Great Britian in
1938. In
1946 this had fallen to just
over five hundred thousand (>500,000). The
tractor,
faster than the horse and
becoming more reliable was still outnumbered by the horse, there being around one hundred thousand in England and Wales in
1940 (100,000). This was a considerable increase considering there were only around fifty six thousand in Great Britain in
1939 (56,000). Many farmers were saved the cost of buying a tractor because of the help offered by the War Agricultural Executive Committees mentioned previously.
Farmers had priority in the allocation of machinery, this would not have happened if it had not been for the war, the provision of machinery was a great help in
modernising farming in England.
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To conclude, the Second World War was a turning point in English agriculture. Through government intervention of the way farmers cultivated their land and subsidised pricing,
agriculture became more productive. The agricultural industry was also fortunate to receive a
priority in machinery allocation, a godsend for farmers wishing to modernise. This was essential due to the
threat to merchant shipping during the Battle of the Atlantic,
shipping space also being in
short supply.
Farmworkers benefited enormously, their efforts being
recognised as valuable to the well being of the country. Government policy worked with notable success, the
Women’s Land Army making a significant contribution, as did
Prisoners-of-War. Without the preparations for increased production, the country would have been, without doubt, short of food. Also like the First World War, farmers were able to make a
comfortable living in most cases, and although rationing was in place for most of the war, farmers were able to access food much more easily than people living in urban England.
http://oldecuriosity.blogspot.ca/2015/02/ww2-farming-in-britain-during-second.html .
Compost, chickens, soil, vermiculture - tb >> .
Agriculture ..
WarAg - Farming in Britain During WW2 ..
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