

. 



L91 



i;.^ \l. COMMISSION ON A(.i:l< I I.TURK. 

 MR. THOMAS C. GOODWIN 



nurd. 



on your ownHccvuut, M it were? As a representa- 



.,t tho Cheshire Chamber ..i Agriculture. 

 6676. You arc deputed by them to oome here.- 



6577. Any other agricultural body? The Milk 

 Producers " I am a im-mln-i of all the agricultural 

 bodif* and the C..MHU IVmmiu.e 



6678 But are the figure* that you have put before 

 this Commiuoo approved by the Cheshire Oumbai 

 of Agriculture? They have not been submitted 

 UK. Chamber of Agriculture. 



6679. Or to any of the other bodies ? No. 



6680. They are your own figures!'- Yea. 



6581 I.- MOT farm a similar farm to the bulk a 



farms in Cheshire ? It is similar to a great many of 



them, but there is a large proportion of the Cheshire 



farms that are milk selling farms all the year round. 



Mm,, is not a milk wiling farm all the year round. 



6683. I was alluding rather to the land? 

 a little on the strong side. 



6583. But you can plough it with two horses. 1 ' Yes. 

 under certain conditions. 1 mean If the weather 

 conditions are favourable. 



6584. But otherwise you use three?- Otherwise w< 

 hould have to use more. 



6585. I have only one question to ask you about the 

 figures you put before us. I notice you only put down 

 a price of 1 10s. Od. an acre for ploughing? Yes. 



6686. Is that for two-horse ploughing or three- 

 horse ploughing? You see we cannot base it on the 

 one, be. !> not know what the conditions are 



that we are going to plough under. In some cases we 

 want more and in some cases we do not; but even 

 with two horses I should put that down. 



6587. So should I. I do not think you could do it 

 at lesa. Would you tell me what the Agricultural 

 Committee of Cheshire charges for tractor ploughing 

 to-day, not last year? I take it this is the rn 

 whicli 1 <!<> not think has been revised for this year. 



6588. Then that is last year's?- This will be last 

 year's; from 22s. 6d. to 27s. 6d. 



6689. An acre?*- Yes, that is down hero. But even 

 then they lost thousands of pound-. 



6690. they did lose thousands of pounds? Yes. 

 6591. In my county it was 32s. 6d., ami then they 



did not cut at all. and it had to be finished off? 

 There was a great deal of finishing it off here. 



6593. However, if you toll mo they lost thousands 

 of pounds it i- no use to me. You put down 1 10s. 

 : horses? Yes; in some cases you have to 

 use more, but, generally speaking, it i- two. 



6693. Have you allowed for the depreciation of the 

 horses?-No. 



6694. Then will you tell mo if you give 100 for a 

 hone to-day do you expect him to be worth 100 five 

 years hence? No. I do not. There is that fart to 

 be taken into consideration. 



6595. You have left that mit? Yes. Of course. 

 personally, as far a* possible, I always work with 

 .*. which appreciate in value :u> a rule. 



6696. It seems to be a very low figure, or I think 

 it UP Yes. 



6697. The Kind you have told me in a little on the* 



Yes. 



I.V.M I), yon use it partly as a dairy farm? Yes, 

 I milk ri> rat tip on it. 



6690. Ami you soil tho milk wholesale. I MI|I; 

 iko it into cheMe. 



6600. Oheeac nil the year round.- You eannot make 

 M. in the winter, iirtly:- We .-an make cheese all 



i he year round. 



6601. I know it M poMihle . out i- it possible pnu ti- 

 ralh - in the winter we do with what 

 milk we have, but we do not go in f.|x>eially for winter 

 .. I. 



6609. But are you no making ehooKo in tin- 

 winter* No. last winter UP did not. 



6603. Yon sold your milk? We sold our milk 



6604. And this next winter I . . n hardly tell you 

 what wo will do; so much depend*. 



6606. I am not so much oonrornod with yours. )nit 

 I am taking it n a " mixed farm 



frmpn in ('benn'm make ohi^-e in tin- 

 winter ? Horn* f*w of thorn, but I think the majority 

 " thrir milk in tin- win* 



oovu. Ami make cheese in the sumin- r \ ca, I 

 think so. Ol course, there h.- boon a grout deal 

 leas cheeso making on n '. 



6607. Of course; but tho r.-.-t <! the larm piodi.oe. 

 the ceroab which you grow, you sell in the ordinary 

 course? Yes. 



6608. You do not grow the cereals for the purpose 

 of your milk farm?- Of course, w naturally use 



some. 



\ on use your root-.- Ye-, and some oats. 

 I it, roughly, a typical 1 he-hire farm? Yes, 

 , \i ept tluii we have not the same percentage of suit- 

 able land lor tho plough as -01.10 I arms have. It is 

 land as to which so much depend- on tho seasons. 

 in the spring, with a wet spring and 

 drying up so quickly, we were at a great disad- 

 \antage. 



<!<;! I. I notice you have not given us tin 1 yields, but 



I midcr-tand that you are going to do? Yes, as far 

 as possible. 



iMi!2. Is four quarters of wheat tie average for the 

 ( onnty of Cheshire? I do not know what the M 



irding to the official returns; but I should say 



II would he a little over that. A lot of the Cheshire 

 laud will grow wheat. 



6818. Could you toll mo at all what proportion of 

 the cost of growing wheat goes in labour? Do you 

 mean the jMTcentage? 



r,r,l 1. Ti ''not without going into 



.. You have never considered that? No, 1 

 Imvo not. 



(iiilii. l)o you have varied kinds of land in Cheshire- 

 Do \ou ha'vo really very heavy and very strong 

 landr Ye-. very strong land. 



CifilT. Three and four-horso land? I would not 

 four-hoi-s' land, but three-horse land. 



Ctil-. I- that, used for corn growing now - In :.ome 

 > course, a lot of that 'and has only come 

 under (ho plough during the war. 



(Milil. As I understand, you ask for a guarantee of 

 about 7'is.r Yes. not le-s than that. 

 M). You would like more? Yes. 



6621. The trouble that I have is. assutirng ueh n 

 thing wen' po-sihle. that that would honelit the better 

 lands much more than it would the poor lands? 

 Just so. That is proved by the fact of the moreaiM 

 of growing wheat on the light land 

 we had to put more manure into it. 



Can you suggest any way by which that 

 Miarantoe ini-ht be differentiated at all in favour of 

 The worst land? 1 have not any suggestion to offer 

 at the moment 



I. Put on a sliding scale in any way? I think 

 it is (jllite reasonable. 



Ha it ever been considered by your ( hamtx 

 of Agriculture? T am afraid not. 



(if>2o. I do not suppose you ever realised that this 

 was the sort of question whi-h was important? No. 

 I may say I was amazed when I came to find out the 

 cost was so much higher on the light land with the 

 worst yield. 



6626. This is a question which docs not only apply 

 to Cheshire, but applies all over? Yes, I was amazed 

 to find it was so. 



6627. Would it be possible for you to get out at 

 all the portion of the labour costs of growing an acre 

 of wheat? Yes. I think so. I will do my best to 

 do so. 



6628. Chairman: As Mr. C'autloy has asked you. 

 .ind I am sure it will bo of interest, to the Cmimis- 

 sion. will \ou U> kind enough to do W. and .seacl it to 

 the Soereiario-? Ye-. Do yon want it both for heavy 

 and light land? 



Mi-.". i. Mr. f'mitlry: Yes. I understand you are not 

 prepared to suggest . and you hove not really, or \olir 

 Chamber ,,| Agriculture" has not, considered as to 

 whether it would be possible' to have a. different rate 

 of guarantee, as it were, for the poor land as com- 

 pared with the good land? No. wo have not con- 

 ' :it. and that will br ji roved to you by th. 

 fact that I had no knowledge of coming hero until 

 .ihout eight days ago. and 1 have had very llttl time 

 for anything of the sort. 



fX>.in We arc- going to have the Board of Agricul- 

 ture re-organised, I understand, and County 

 Coinn e going in take a more prominent part 



